Lilac Sky
by atonemxnt
Summary: "Some days, I wonder if you miss me. Other days, I wonder why I'm still wondering. It had never occurred to me that our lives, which had been so closely interwoven, could unravel with such speed. With you, I was like a falling star who had finally found her place next to another in a lovely constellation, where we will sparkle in the heavens forever." Sirius BlackxOC
1. Preface

In the 1930s an anonymous publication concerned with preserving the purity of bloodlines within the magical population was compiled, giving a compendium of the truly pure-blood families with 'the aim of helping such families maintain the purity of their bloodlines'. The so-called 'Sacred Twenty-Eight' comprised the families of: Abbott, Avery, Black, Bulstrode, Burke, Carrow, Crouch, Fawley, Flint, Gaunt, Greengrass, Lestrange, Longbottom, Macmillan, Malfoy, Nott, Ollivander, Parkinson, Prewett, Rosier, Rowle, Selwyn, Shacklebolt, Shafiq, Slughorn, Travers, Weasley, and Yaxley.

* * *

The Avery family was one like any other in the 'Sacred Twenty-Eight', known for their status, their wealth, and their fanatical devotion to pure-blood philosophy. Victor and Agnes Avery raised their children to uphold the same beliefs, twins, Ines and Oberon. The children were the epitome of pureblood children. Pure in every sense of the word. Ines had learned about the witches and wizards before her who had abandoned the lives they had to live a life and abandon their purity. She never thought that could be her until she met a boy named after the stars who made her want to forget of her namesake entirely.


	2. Introduction

The great hall was true to its namesake, it was truly magnificent. The candles hanging from the lifelike ceiling illuminated the faces of all the first years parading down the center. Many, obviously having never seen magic of this caliber before, looked close to tears. Ines and Oberon Avery had seen magic of the sort before and stayed calm as they walked through the hall with their hands together. They were able to spot familiar faces as they walked, and gave polite smiles. Their family was well acquainted with the Blacks and the Malfoys, as well as most other pureblood families. They gave polite, identical, smiles to Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black, both of whom were in their last year at school. They returned their smiles and continued to watch them down the hall. But they were not the only ones. Most of Slytherin house was aware of who they were and where they would most likely be sitting moments from now.

The tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Before anyone had a second longer to think their attention turned to the hat sat upon the stool, as it began to belt out a song. It sang of the houses, the student's occupying them, and the mystery of the school.

Ines, not having much interest as she knew a great deal about Hogwarts, looked around the crowd surrounding her. She saw a few people she recognized, many she did not. She spotted a girl with bright red hair standing beside a boy with shoulder length black hair, a quite odd looking pair. A tall boy with scars adorning his face and neck, standing beside a shorter pudgier boy. She spotted a boy with hair sticking in all directions with a grin on his face, whispering to the boy next to him. But it seemed as though this boy didn't have much interest in the song either as he was looking around too. When the two of them locked eyes, Ines' recognized him immediately. Sirius Black, son of Walburga and Orion, and cousin to Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa. They had met a few times in the past, in brief passing in Nocturn Alley and at 'pureblood' events. Before another moment passed, clapping filled the hall, the hat had finished its song.

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted,". She paused to look down at her scroll and looked up and yelled "Avery, Oberon."

Ines' grip tightened around her brother's hand, and he gave her a reassuring look before she was able to let go. She, among the rest of the school, watched as he made his way to the front of the crowd, up the steps, and sat on the stool. The hat was dropped on his head and fell past his face. Though Ines expected murmurs of laughter she heard none, everyone was intent on listening to where the next generation of the Avery line would end up. With only a moment passing the hat bellowed "SLYTHERIN!" and cheers erupted from the far right of the hall. Many stood up and clapped, their smiles following him all the way to his seat at the start of the table. She smiled for her brother, thrilled to see him so happy. Almost forgetting that she was bound to be next.

"Avery, Ines" Professor McGonagall called. Ines made her way through the crowd, passing the people she had seen before. She made her way to the stool and sat. She got a fleeting glimpse of the students staring up before her before the hat fell beyond her eyes, covering her whole face just as it had done to her brother.

The voice of the hat seemed to reverberate in her head. "Ah, another Avery. Yet. Difficult. Very difficult. You're quite similar to that twin of yours. But. Hmmn. Plenty of courage, I see and a nice thirst to prove yourself but that's to be expected of course." It seemed to laugh at his words, but it was followed by moments of suspenseful silence. The quiet chatter in the hall seemed to quiet down now. Nobody was expecting this to take as long as it had, considering her brothers sorting previous, including Ines. Now the hat was talking quieter, only to Ines. "As much as you want to believe you know where you belong, deep down inside you know the truth." Ines froze. Before she could think of anything the hat yelled "GRYFFINDOR!".

Ines wishes that McGonagall never took the hat off her head, so she wouldn't have to see the people in front of her. The cheers she received were nothing like her brothers. Not a single person from Slytherin clapped, yelled, or even smiled. She could barely look Oberon in the eyes as she got off the stool and down the steps, she couldn't read his expression. The Gryffindor table was cheering the most, but she noticed some hesitation within some. She was their first Gryffindor of the year, so she got the first open seat. Others turned to her to cheer and introduce themselves but she couldn't look at any of them. She stared blankly in front of her, trying to take in what had just happened. She struggled to comprehend what had happened but also tried to ignore the thoughts about the reaction of her family.

"Black, Sirius" then echoed through the hall. Sirius was looking spooked as well, after having just witnessed Ines' sorting. Mere seconds passed before the hat bellowed out "GRYFFINDOR". He received the same attention from the Slytherins, none. But Gryffindor was happy to have him, cheering as they did for Ines. He was much more receptive of his applause, high-fiving and smiling at all. He then sat across from Ines as the cheering subsided and the next student was called up. He seemed a bit taken aback, but happy all the same.

"Hello," he whispered. "Not expecting Gryffindor I suppose". He said, with a slight chuckle. She nodded, a small smile reaching her face, "I expect you weren't either?". He smiled as well, "Not really, I'm not at all that surprised, just in shock I guess. My parents won't be happy." Ines looked down at the table, her parents was another hurdle besides her brother. She knew without a doubt they would be unhappy, even furious. "Mine as well," she finally answered, her hesitation not going unnoticed. "But, weirdly enough, I don't feel as though there's been a mistake". At these words Sirius smiled brightly, causing Ines to as well.

The sorting had continued around them, three students going to Hufflepuff, four to Ravenclaw, and one to Slytherin. The next to be sorted was the redhead girl that Ines had spotted before, who gladly made her way to Gryffindor, sparing a glance towards the boy she had been standing next to previous. She sat next to Ines, introducing herself as Lily. After a few more had been sorted, Gryffindor had gained their next student. The boy with the scars, Remus Lupin. Then a small pudgy boy, who took as long as 5 minutes to be sorted until the hat finally decided on Gryffindor.

The next name was called, "Potter, James". At these words Sirius stood up taller to get a better view, he had been standing next to him earlier. The hat had barely even touched his head before it bellowed "GRYFFINDOR". James smiled brightly, and walked over to the table and sat next to Sirius, greeting him as if they'd known each other for years. He gave a small nod to Ines and a wink to Lily.

More students had joined their respective houses, and all the while Ines had struggled to even look at her brother. She risked it once another Slytherin boy had been sorted, Severus Snape. Severus sat solemnly next to Oberon who gave him a small nod and smile. He briefly caught Ines' eye before she looked the other way. Ines feared the day in which she would have to face him and hoped it wasn't any time soon. She knew, that as her twin he should be happy for her, but Oberon sometimes felt like an extension of her parents. They had talked about being in Slytherin together, upholding the family tradition, one that's been held for many generations. Sirius had noticed her change in demeanor, but before he could say anything Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there. "Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts!"


	3. Chapter One

Ines walked next to Oberon in silence as they made their way through Kings Cross, pushing their luggage carts. From an outside viewer, they could pass as the closest pair of twins. Despite the fact that they looked similar, the walked in perfect pace with each other. Looking deeper, the differences arose. Oberon had a sour look on his face, eyeing every person who passed them by. Ines, on the other hand, was flashing a gorgeous smile at each of the heads that turned her way, a regular occurrence. When they weren't looking at her they were gawking at her large trunk and cage perched on top, containing a light grey owl. Ines walking with light and airy steps, as if she was floating, Oberon took much more purposeful steps. Yet they walked side by side, mere inches separating them.

But to those who knew, they were everything but close. After they had been sorted differently, they grew apart, and in turn angrier. Oberon had no regard for Ines, but Ines could not care less. Having been in Gryffindor for five years now, she could not be any more different than the person she was when she entered Hogwarts. She shed all care of what people thought of her and embraced her new personality in full form. She was fierce, fearless, and the epitome of a Gryffindor. This just so happened to be everything that her family hated. But, they didn't want to draw any attention to the fact that they despised their daughter and kept the entire thing under wraps, pretending they were a perfect family. Their parents walked behind them, rather quickly as to keep up with their children and avoid being among muggles for any longer than they had to.

As they neared the barrier that would lead them to platform 9 ¾'s the number of witches and wizards around them seemed to increase. Ines recognized many students, all of which recognized her. It wasn't often that students saw Ines and Oberon standing side by side, so they were a sight to be seen. Once they finally reached the barrier they walked through with ease and were greeted with the bright red steaming train as they were every year. They had only moments to admire it as their parents quickly followed suit after them. They made their way towards the train and rid themselves of their luggage until both Ines and Oberon were stopped by a firm hand on their shoulders, stopping them from moving. They turned to face their father, Victor. He only whispered "come" and directed them towards the back of the platform. Ines watched as her father walked with her mother to people she knew quite well.

Cygnus and Druella Black, who seemed to be showing off their daughter Narcissa to Ines and Oberon's mother, Agnes. It was quite obvious what they were talking about, as Narcissa was showing off her engagement ring. She had been engaged to Lucius Malfoy that summer, to which an engagement party followed suit, attended by most pureblood families. Ines and Oberon stood and admired Narcissa's ring with as much false enthusiasm as they could muster. The entire family seemed to be there, Bellatrix and her husband Rodolphus. Andromeda was absent, but that was to be expected as two years previous she had been exiled from her family. The family seemed to only be there to reconnect with 'friends', most likely under the pretense that they were there to see off some family.

Cygnus gave a polite nod to the twins, giving only a hint of a smile. "Oberon, how are you.". Oberon returned his nod, "Quite well sir.". Druella now turned to join the conversation "Oberon very nice to see you. Oh Agnes," Their mother now turned "He is turning into such a respectable young man". Agnes gave a smile while trying to ignore the fact that her daughter had yet to be mentioned.

Cygnus and Druella were always very kind to Oberon, but never to Ines. They had heard plenty from Walburga about her association with Sirius and regarded her just as they did him, with disgust. "How are you both?" Ines asked, putting on the brightest smile she could. The two didn't seem so keen on answering but were saved by the sound of the train's horn. Agnes spoke up "Oh kids, time to make your way now.". The Black family dispersed slightly, walking towards the train a bit and gathering in another huddle further on. The twins faced their mother and father, who gave them both impassive looks. Victor spoke, "This year is very important, it is crucial that you do well in your academics, as well as uphold a good image." He said his last words giving Ines a small scowl. Agnes only gave them small hugs which they barely reciprocated, and they gave their father polite nods. He gave Oberon a pat on the shoulder, and they went their separate ways.

On their way across the platform, they passed the Black family huddle and was able to get a glimpse of what was happening. Sirius seemed to be getting the same talk from his parents that Ines was just given. He clearly did not care, but his parents continued anyways. Ines gave him a smile and a wink, to which he smirked. They would be seeing each other on the train in moments no doubt. They were about to leave the group, their family parting to create a path for them to walk. It was then revealed that next to Sirius stood his brother Regulus. At this reveal, Ines heard a sharp intake of breath from her brother. She gave him a small look, to which he didn't return as he was looking at Regulus.

Ines boarded the train first, a smile immediately forming on her face. She turned to face Oberon and whispered a small "goodbye", this is the moment in which they would part ways. He struggled to get a word out, but gave up and turned away towards his usual compartment. Ines then walked to find hers, glad to see so many people she recognized. She passed Stubby Boardman, a 6th year who was leaning against the wall talking to a Hufflepuff girl that Ines recognized to be Trinity Pollard. He shot her a wink as she passed, earning a small slap from the other girl. Ines kept walking, grinning. She could see her usual compartment up ahead, but her vision was blocked when a body stepped out in front of her, nearly knocking her to the ground. Gavin Gudgeon, a 7th-year boy in Gryffindor with sandy blonde hair and a blinding smile.

"Hello Ines, nice to see you," he said, flashing his signature smile. Ines smiled back, "Yeah, very nice. I see you've been promoted, captain." She decided to get this over with as she assumed the reason he was talking her was to show off his captains badge. "Why yes!" he said, fixing his red and gold sparkling badge on his chest, "Very excited for this upcoming season". Ines then began to walk past him, "Me as well, see you at trials I guess". Ines had been a Beater for the past 2 years and wasn't exactly sure how she felt with Gavin being the captain of their team. His expression faltered, hoping to have spoken to her longer and walked back into his compartment.

When Ines reached hers she was immediately bombarded with a bone-crushing hug from all her friends. Lily, Marlene, Dorcas, Mary, and Emmeline all smiled at her when they broke away from their hug. Ines laughed at them all "Don't kill me just yet, the years barely started.". They all laughed back at her, Lily patting the spot next to her. The train had begun its ride to Hogwarts, and Ines watched as her parents slid out of view, a weight lifted off her shoulders.

"I was lucky enough to witness your usual pre-term lesson from your father from the window," Dorcas said, jerking her head to the window next to her. "I don't think they could ignore you more if they tried". The girls laughed, "Well, it was better than having to spend another second looking at Narcissa's engagement ring". "Engaged? huh. I'm assuming it's arranged. Narcissa always seemed so frightened of Lucius", Marlene said, ever the gossiper it was no surprise she knew this much. "Well lucky for you, I'll be reporting live from the wedding over holiday break" Ines groaned. "All purebloods in attendance I expect"

Marlene perked up at this, "Like whom?". Ines ignored her question, knowing what answer she was looking for. It was no secret she had a crush on Sirius Black. Pity was, he was too busy off with seemingly every other girl but her. They began talking about their summers. Marlene had stayed home, attending a few Quidditch matches and other events. Mary had worked much of the summer at Fortescue's. Dorcas had gone on vacation to America, visiting New York City and various places in the vicinity. Emmeline had gone on an expedition with her parents to Romania, to see the dragons that her mother worked with. Lily had met her sister's new boyfriend and read a ton. They spoke for almost the whole trip, plenty of gossiping and talk of the upcoming O.W.L's. They changed into their robes, Ines was very happy to be wearing red and gold again. Over the summer, she was prohibited for showing her association with Gryffindor at all, despite all her clothes having some sort of emblem on it. On a few occasions, she was forced to take something of Oberon's if there was company coming before laundry day.

"Have we missed the trolley?" Ines asked, getting up to peer out the door. She saw it down the compartment, the lady handing pumpkin pasties to a few third-year Hufflepuffs. "I suppose we have" she muttered. Turning back to the compartment, asking if anyone wanted anything. She took their orders, and Lily joined her on her trip. They bought Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, and Fizzing Whizzbees. Ines bough numerous packs of sugar quills, her favorite.

They then passed the trolley lady, deciding to go to the bathroom. On their way, they heard the unmistakable sound of exploding snap and a cry of defeat that Ines could recognize from a mile away. She peered inside the trolley in question to see Remus Lupin smiling jovially and laughing at a soot-covered Peter Pettigrew. "Hello boys," Ines said, pulling open the sliding door. They all chorused back their hello's smiling. Sirius stood up next to James and smiled at Ines, who held out her hand. "Oh my, what a gorgeous ring, I wonder how many nights of bargaining it took for that to be placed there.". They rolled their eyes in unison, equally as annoyed by the recent engagement. Ines smiled with as much mock happiness as she could "Oh well, it's quite wonderful isn't it. I'm so lucky to be marrying the man I fear most." The two rolled their eyes in unison and laughed. He sat next to her, placing his arm around her shoulders, a usual occurrence for the two. Despite the numerous times, Ines had vehemently told the girls of their strictly platonic friendship they never believed her.

The girls made their way into the compartment, filling it to capacity. James sat across from Lily, giving her a wink and a smile to the rest of the girls. Lily didn't smile but only tuned to Ines in annoyance, as if blaming her for this occurrence. Which is most likely the best explanation, as Ines was very much as good as friends with the four boys and she was with her roommates. James spoke first, "Sirius was just telling me about Narcissa's engagement, is it true that Celestina Warbeck is singing at their wedding?" Ines rolled her eyes, "Possibly, but I couldn't care less enough to find out". Sirius laughed, "Anyone's better than the bird who sang at their engagement party, she sounded like she was under the cruciatus curse". Ines and James laughed, "Druella looked furious, I swear she was about to call off the party and the wedding with each song."

Remus spoke up next, "Sorry to break up the fun, but I think me and Lily should head off for the prefect meeting.". Lily looked happy to go, despite the fact that she had been waiting for someone to bring up her new prefect status. Ines groaned, pushing Lily up from her spot next to her, and laying her head down in the newly open space. "Just leave me here Lily, go be a good student or whatever". She gave her a small annoyed smile and walked off with Remus, James seemingly very sad to see her go. The four remaining kids spoke for a bit, much of the upcoming quidditch season, all the while Ines ate all her sugar quills, sure not to let Sirius steal one. Peter was a bit confused, being that he was the only one not on the team, but was happy to even be included in the conversation. Sirius had just turned to ask her a question when something out of the corner of Ines' eye caught her attention. Her brother had spared her a quick glance before walking down towards his compartment.

"I'll be right back" Ines muttered "bathroom". She left without another glance towards the boys and walked down to where Oberon was walking away. "Oberon" she whispered, trying not to draw too much attention to them. He ignored her until it was impossible to, she was right behind him now. He turned to her, slowly, wishing he could take the extra three steps and be in his compartment again. "I can't be seen with you, especially not with all the time you're spending with Black" He muttered, nothing but anger in his eyes. Ines scoffed "What's that supposed to mean, he's not any worse than you and you're little friends." Oberon found company in only Slytherins, his closest friends being Snape, Mulciber, Evan Rosier, Bertha Jorkins, and Regulus. "Mind your own business." Ines almost laughed "Oh when it's about me you can have an opinion but suddenly when I mention your friends I'm stepping out of line."

"Quiet, leave and go sit with your idiot boyfrie-" but before he could say anything else Ines cut him off, continuing her rant. "and you're one to talk, chastising me for sitting with Sirius, let me take a wild guess as to whom you're sitting with." Fury grew in Oberon's eyes, he couldn't speak. "Seems as though we both have things for Blacks." Ines spat, not meaning to insult his feelings rather his hypocrisy. He stalked off, Ines doing the same in, in opposite directions. Ines reached the compartment to find the boys changing into their uniforms. She walked in head first into Sirius, who was in the process of putting on his shirt. She stepped back in shock, taking only a second to admire him, then walked past him into her original seat. James sent Sirius a look, but he only got a shake of his head as if to say 'cut it out'.

Ines tried to ignore the previous events and was given the distraction of the train slowly coming to a stop. Ines hopped up, wishing the boys goodbye, and running down the train to her previous compartment as she had left some of her stuff in it. She didn't even think twice about the people around her and immediately ran forwards, swerving between students, trying not to hit them. Mumbling insincere 'sorry's' and giving false apologetic looks as she sprinted. She caught Emmeline, on her way out of their compartment, who handed her her bag. Ines muttered a thank you, and Emmeline gave her a knowing look. They walked off the train, saying their various hello's. They passed Hagrid, whom they bid good evening and made their way to the carriages. Ines had been told that they were pulled by bony looking creatures, but neither her or her friends could actually see them. She waited for her friends to climb into the compartment, sparing a smile to Sirius who was doing the same for the carriage behind them and hopped in.


	4. Chapter Two

The great hall never failed to impress, It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens. Professor McGonagall led the first-years up to the front so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. The fifth years sat towards the back end of the table. Ines sat in the middle of Lily and Marlene, who sat next to Emmeline, Dorcas, and Mary respectively. Across from them sat Remus, James, Sirius, and Peter, in that order. Ines hadn't eaten since she downed a package of sugar quills.

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. After a moment's pause "HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat. The table on the right cheered and clapped as the girl went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Ines saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her. "HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and a boy named Marcus scuttled off to sit next to the girl. "Lockhart, Gilderoy!" "RAVENCLAW!" The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Gilderoy as he joined them. "Laskey, Alexander" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded, Ines, Sirius, and James stood and cheered. "Striver, Millicent" then became a Slytherin.

Once every new student had been sorted, Dumbledore stood from his seat at the high table and silence ensued. "Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are; Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you." He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered until the food appeared in front of them.

James and Sirius honored their usual tradition and hit forks before diving in. Ines scooped as much mashed potatoes on her plate as she could and ate. Nobody spoke for a whole as the food was too good not to savor every bite. Marlene took a sip out of her goblet, fixed her hair, and pulled down her shirt. Ines rolled her eyes, catching the attention of Lily and Remus who gave a knowing smile to each other. "Sirius," Marlene called. She caught him mid swallow, making him pause and pull a quite unflattering face. Ines struggled to stifle a laugh, but Marlene continued. "How was your summer! Do anything exciting?"

He saw this as a simple question, but Ines knew that Marlene had been hyping herself up to say it since the train. "Didn't do much?" he said, in-between shoveling chicken wings from alternating hands into his mouth. "Spent most of it at home, Narcissa's engagement party." He threw a wink at Ines whom he had seen there, which saddened Marlene enough to ignore Sirius for the rest of the night and talk to Emmeline, Dorcas, and Mary. Sirius hadn't noticed and continued to eat his food, occasionally chatting with his surrounding classmates. The rest of the meal was quite nice, the group of kids spoke much about the upcoming year. The heavier end of the conversation was held by Remus and Lily, both of whom had already begun some necessary reading for their exams. But James, Sirius, and Ines (with occasional unwanted comments from Marlene) about how they were going to handle their exams on top of all they planned for this year.

Once the meal had ended, Lily and Remus attended to their new prefect duty of escorting the first years, and the rest left to walk on their own. The walk was quite nice, Ines had missed the castle dearly. She was lucky to say she lived in a very nice home, similar to that of Hogwarts. But her own home couldn't mimic the feeling that being at Hogwarts gave her. She was able to wear her house colors with pride instead of fear and could be with people who appreciated her.

Once back in the common room, James, Sirius, Ines, Peter, and the girls lounged on the couch by the ever-present fire. They commonly sat here, and much of Gryffindor knew not to occupy the area. They held a normal conversation for a while until the group slowly started to thin out. Emmeline and Dorcas went up first, wanting to unpack their trunks. Mary left not long after, held up in a conversation with Peter. The latter left next once Remus had returned, hoping that he would speak to him more than the rest would. Lily had sat for only a while but claimed to leave due to wanting to get some sleep, but James' constant unwanted conversation was definitely a factor. Marlene tried to cling onto the conversation, trying to pull Sirius from it numerous times, all of which were failed attempts. She left out of frustration, once Sirius had given her a soft 'yeah' to her question regarding if he used Fleetwood's High-Finish Handle Polish on his broom.

Ines watched her walk away with pity. She was so desperately obsessed with Sirius, but she would have to get in line. Numerous girls tried to strike up a conversation, even before they had reached the common room. One had accidentally walked through a ghost, not having paid attention to where she was going as she was too busy staring into Sirius' eyes. Now that the room was mostly empty Ines threw herself on the large couch, took off her tie, and put her feet up on the ottoman. The conversation had progressively gotten deeper, initially of what Dumbledore had been wearing, regarding their true worries about the upcoming year.

Ines had wanted to become an Auror for quite some time, ever since the second year. Twins Fabian and Gideon had told her of the career meeting they had had with McGonagall and gave her a ministry pamphlet regarding what she would have to do in order to become an Auror, as they were looking into the same profession. She had held onto the pamphlet for years. Her family's house elf Bobky had claimed to of thrown it out by accident, but she was sure that her mother had asked him to dispose of it and told him to lie.

James and Sirius had been debating who the replacement Seeker for the Chudley Cannons would be, when James yawned and announced he was going to head up to bed, leaving Sirius and Ines in the common room. Sirius took one last sweep of the room and turned fully to face Ines. "It was nice seeing you this summer, I don't know what I would have done if I had to sit with my parents the whole night" He mumbled. Ines' breath caught in her throat, she had no clue how to respond. She and Sirius had always had a good relationship, they were able to understand things about each other that their closest friends couldn't. As much as James and Lily tried to be empathetic, they would never understand the pressure of being the only Gryffindor in a mainly Slytherin pureblood family. But these moments were few and far between, as they generally tried to bury their issues.

"Yeah," she whispered "I'm quite surprised we weren't caught. I swear that old Yaxley bloke was watching the whole room like a hawk. I'm surprised he didn't catch you charming the chocolate fountain to sputter." The two laughed, Sirius had caused the fountain to spurt chocolate at random intervals whenever someone was using it. When they weren't laughing at the fountain, they were hidden in the extensive Malfoy manor library. The spiraling staircase and catwalks made for plenty of fun, as the manor made them exempt from the non-magic statue of secrecy laws. "What did you tell your family once we came back?"

He smirked a bit, toying with the hem of his robe. "I told them I had a nasty stomach ache and had asked the house elf Dobby for a remedy, which took all that time to make. You?". "I told them I had gone to the bathroom and had mistakenly walked into a room I got trapped in." They smiled, getting very tired at this point. "Oberon saw right through it". "Regulus did too". Ines yawned, she was quite tired. The night before was spent packing, as she had procrastinated for quite some time. "I think I'm gonna head up" she whispered, slowly getting up. Sirius nodded, looking like he could doze off any second as well. "I think I'll head up in a bit too, in a few". Ines mumbled 'ok' and turned to give Sirius a quick hug, whispered 'goodnight' and went up to the girl's staircase. Once she reached the dormitory, she tried to be as quiet as possible as to not wake her sleeping friends. Lily sat up only slightly, giving Ines a small, and somehow knowing, look before lying back down on her pillow.


	5. Chapter Three

As much as Ines protested, she was eventually dragged from her bed the next morning. She trudged around the room, unpacking only a bit as she didn't have a chance to the night before. "Dorcas, can you pass me my hairbrush?" she asked, as she rummaged through her trunk at the foot of her bed, looking for her left shoe. Dorcas, who had been washing her face turned from the bathroom in confusion, "I haven't got your hairbrush." Ines groaned and slammed her trunk shut, being quite dramatic. "I haven't got my shoe, my hairbrush, or any clue of what the hell I'm doing".

Suddenly the hairbrush in question fell in her lap, Lily had had it. Ines smiled at her gratefully, opening her arms up for a hug. When Lily didn't move they shot each other cheeky smiles and went to continue their morning routine. The girls had decided to wait in the common room, Emmeline stayed behind to fix her hair. She eventually found her left shoe and was able to fully put herself together. After applying a bit of makeup, she left the bathroom and walked to the door. Walking down the steps she heard someone call behind her "Wait" Emmeline called, "you forgot your tie". Emmeline had run down after her, but Ines had already made it down to the common room. She was immediately greeted with Sirius, holding her tie. They paused, staring at each other. Emmeline behind her, James, Lily, Dorcas, Remus, Mary, Peter, and Marlene were behind Sirius watching them in confusion and shock. James was holding back a smile, Lily's jaw was dropped, and Marlene looked close to tears.

"Ive, uh, got your tie" he whispered. Ines took it from him and whispered thank you, before walking past him to her friends. Lily broke from their spot and walked with her, trying to keep pace. Ines knew what she was going to ask and didn't want to give her a chance to. "Ines what was that about?" she asked once she caught up. Ines tried to keep it short and sweet, knowing that she was not likely to believe the truth on the matter. "I took off my tie last night in the common room, forgot it, and Sirius found it.". Lily scoffed, "Like hell. Either way, what was that.". Ines slowed down, as they had made it down 2 full flights of stairs and were in the entrance hall. "What was what?". Lily scoffed, "Oh maybe, the gazing into each other eyes thing." Ines rolled her eyes and made her way into the great hall to sit. Food had already filled the tables, so the girls began to pack things onto their plate.

It wasn't long until Severus walked up to their table. He hovered next to her, unsure as to whether he should sit or not. Ines didn't like Severus. It was hard to think of anyone who would willingly spend their time with Oberon to have a heart. On top of that, he had drifted from being utterly obsessed with Lily to being with Mulciber, Evan Rosier, Bertha Jorkins, and Regulus. All of whom exuded a sense of pureblood superiority and evil. Lily reluctantly turned to him and pulled her best-forced smile, "Hello, Severus. Nice to see you.". A faint blush could be seen on his cheeks, and it took all of Ines' power not to roll her eyes. "Hello, Lily. How are you?'. Lily, already quite finished with the conversation replied with a tight-lipped 'fine'. Severus, seeing his presence was no longer wanted, began to step backward. But, as he was not paying attention, walked right into James and Sirius. They grabbed his shoulders and pushed him backward, causing him to almost topple over, "Seeya Snivelly!" James shouted, grinning.

Ines reached out a hand to Lily, she knew that despite the fact that she hated Snape that losing a friend was hard. She felt a similar sadness when it came to Oberon. They could pass as the closest pair of twins, and they truly used to be. But it was no longer that way, a simple thing such as school houses were able to drive such a wedge between her and her family that the fact that Oberon went along with it proved to Ines the kind of person he was. Lily smiled, appreciating the gesture.

The group of kids all sat around in the seats surrounding Ines and Lily, continuing their conversation on the way down about some charm. Ines, who wanted to stand her ground that the 'gazing into each other eyes thing' was simply that, nothing more, with no feelings but platonic ones driving it, and slid closer down to Sirius. "Hi" she whispered, catching his attention. He turned to look at her and smiled. She sat next to him, listening to James and Remus' conversation. James had read the Daily Prophet aloud, as there was a new update on the mysterious floo disappearance of Violet Tillyman. It wasn't before long that McGonagall came around to pass out their schedules. She passed them to Lily first, giving her a smile, then to the rest of the girls. She then passed them out to the boys and Ines, giving them stern looks. "You have all dropped divination I see, why is that". They laughed, reminiscing, James explained it to her "we all decided to drop it after Professor Babbling told Ines that she would one day experience something that 'inspires stars to climb into the sky and light up the world.' and that's when we knew we had enough.". Ines rolled her eyes playfully, noticing a small tight-lipped smile from McGonagall, and took her schedule.

She received hers to find that she had Charms first, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Transfiguration, and Potions last, with Astronomy at night. Students from other houses were darting around to compare their schedules with their friends. A 5th year Slytherin girl came to compare her schedule with a Ravenclaw girl sitting behind Ines. Ines peered over to them, only to find, to her disappointment, that she shared DADA, Astronomy, and Potions with the Slytherins. Meaning, she would have to see Oberon in three more classes than she wanted to.

After finishing their meal, Ines, James, and Sirius got up to leave. They had charms first, and Lily, not wanting to be late, stayed behind so to be closer to the room and not have to walk all the way from the quad. James was talking very enthusiastically about the upcoming quidditch season; "There are seven hundred ways of committing a Quidditch foul and all of them had happened during the World Cup match in 1473. Now I'm thinking, If the Transylvanian Captain was able to commit nearly half of them, create the Transylvanian Tackle, AND win the game, we should be able to get away with much more.". Before Ines could respond, asking how he found something so ridiculous someone called her name. All three of the kids turned to their right to find Quidditch Captain Gavin Gudgeon seated at the edge of the table. "Talking about Quidditch are you eh? Forgot to post it in the common room, but trials are this Thursday at 6.". Ines smiled, "thanks, I'll be sure to brush up with Brutus Scrimgeour's Beaters' Bible.". Gavin laughed, McGonagall had given her the book last year after she almost took out the teachers box with a bludger when the commentator, Gregory Cotton - who had been kicked from Slytherins team as he tried to transfigure the opposing teams Seeker Dougal McBride's head into a cabbage in order to get the snitch before him - had some rude remarks regarding her beating skills. Funnily enough, Scrimgeour first priority for a Beater is to ' take out the Seeker'.

Gavin had gotten up from his seat, implying he was going to walk with the three of them. Ines ignored James and Sirius' obvious displeasure in this and greeted Gavin with a smile. Ines and Gavin walked side by side, with James and Sirius skulking right behind them. "I want to try something new, the Bludger Backbeat, you backhand the Bludger, it's difficult to pull off with any precision but I think you can do it. very effective for disorienting opponents, who don't expect a Bludger to come at them in that way and-" Ines cut him off with a laugh, now passing the hospital wing staircase, "That is if I get off the team, trials are this Thursday you said?".

Gavin smiled softly, which turned into a haughty smirk, "Of course you'll be on the team, I'd be stupid not to have someone like you on it. It also means we can spend more time together.". Ines' pace slowed down at these words, she knew Gavin's games. She was able to catch a scoff from Sirius behind her as she did so. Ines gave him a teasing smile, causing him to blush. "Well I'll still be coming to trials, I'll see you then." at this she gave him a wink turned on her heel, to keep him waiting and to get James and Sirius out of there before they made one more snide remark. She grabbed their hands and pulled them back through the quad, cutting through the courtyard. James was the first to speak, imitating Gavin quite poorly; "Oh Ines, I'd be stupid to not have you on the team, how would I stare at your arse when you're above me on your broom?" The boys sniggered at her, all the way to charms.

As quickly as Ines found herself in charms, she was out of it. Day one expectation was to successfully perform the aguamenti charm. Flitwick hadn't thought out the lesson as thoroughly as he should have, especially considering who he would be having in his classroom. James' clothes had been drenched 20 minutes into the lesson, which then caused Sirius' clothes to be drenched 21 minutes in, and Ines' 22 minutes. They found themselves walking through the halls to McGonagall's office in sopping wet clothes, while Ines racked her brain for the charm that would make them dry again. After James had tried 'Incendio', causing a trail of flames to appear at the hem of unsuspecting 2nd-year Ravenclaws robes, Ines remembered 'Venteus' which the boys thanked her repeatedly for. McGonagall had heard the shrieks from the poor boy, and rounded the corner, calling them all into her office.

"Well?" she said sharply. "What happened?". Sirius kicked his feet up on McGonalls deck and leaned back into his chair, which was not a good sign "Minnie, it was all quite innocent. James' was suddenly taken over by a wave of water that just seemed to come out of nowhere." McGonagall pushed his feet from the desk, hoping to have a civil conversation. Her dream was quickly crushed when James slammed his hand on the desk "That's absolute blasphemy and you know! The water had to of come from you," before Sirius could argue against it, James continued his explanation "So I was merely defending myself from this vicious attack." McGonagall then turned to Ines, an obvious headache forming "Now how is it that you are also soaked, Ms. Avery?". Ines rounded on Sirius, looking him dead in the eyes as she spoke: "Sirius thought it would be funny to have a water fight, in a classroom, indoors, like an idiot!". While Ines and Sirius bickered, McGonagall looked to the Ravenclaw boy. At this point, the poor Ravenclaw boy was so overcome, there was no getting a word out of him. "All right," said Professor McGonagall, not unkindly, "go up to the hospital wing, please, and get Madam Pomfrey to give you something for burns and shock." When he had left the room, Professor McGonagall turned back to James, Sirius, and Ines. "What you three did was incredibly unacceptable and disruptive. I don't know how you expect to get through this year, your most important year, with this childish attitude."

The three kids lowered their heads - missing McGonagall's fleeting smile - not wanting to receive the full blow of her punishment. "How's my quidditch team going?" she asked. Their three heads snapped up. "Our what?" James asked. "You heard me." She said. Ines looked at her confused, and answered slowly "fine, professor. Trials are on Thursday.". She gave them a tight-lipped smile "All right then, wonderful. Now, please go to your next class, Defense Against the Dark Arts I believe."

They all left slowly, not entirely processing what had just happened, walking to their next class. Once they arrived outside of professor Merrythoughts classroom, they were greeted by the rest of their friends. Remus laughed at their confused expression as they approached, "So what's McGonagall got you doing? polish the silver in the trophy room without magic, clean out the bedpans in the hospital wing, loss of Hogsmeade privileges?" Peter laughed along with him, looking hopefully at Remus, hoping to hop in and add another layer to the joke, but Ines didn't give him a chance. "Nothing, at all" she whispered, as she whisked past him and joined arms with Lily's outstretched one. She could hear him exclaim in confusion behind her as she turned to Lily. "Nothing at all really? Why's that?". "I assume she didn't want us to miss quidditch, all she did was ask us what had happened and how this years team was going." The two of them laughed, now entering Merrythoughts classroom. Once they were seated, Ines next to Lily, James next to Sirius behind them, Remus next to Peter to their right, and Marlene next to Emmeline on their left Ines turned to face her. "Lily," she whispered, taking her focus away from the chalkboard "Do you know who it was that drenched James with water? Cause if it was Sirius I would have known before he had done it.". Lily only blushed, but as hard as she tried to mask it, turning away from Ines, she caught her. She stifled a giggle and smirked at her. She turned briefly to look at Sirius, who she grinned at. He smiled back, seeming to understand her unspoken message, and winked. Ines turned back to the front of the room, wondering why it was she was stifling a blush as well.


	6. Chapter Four

Potions class was never usually something that Ines' dreaded. She was quite good at it, and Slughorn favored her along with Lily. But the growing distance between her and Oberon had made potions with the Slytherins made it difficult to be excited for. Slughorn greeted Ines and Lily joyfully as he always did "Lily! Ines! So glad to see you! Ines, how is your father? Still working in the Goblin Liaison Office?" Ines nodded grimly, not wanting to talk of her father, "Yes sir". Slughorn nodded delightfully, following them to continue their conversation all the way to their desks "I just put a young Dirk Cresswell in contact with your father, I hope all went well.". Ines nodded, now seated "as do I.," she said, not meaning it at all. She couldn't care less about the things her father did, much less the people who sucked up to merely for a job.

The rest of the class filled in behind the girls, and Slughorn greeted most of them. He gave a firm handshake to Emmeline, a polite hello to Gemma Farley, he asked about how Graham Pritchard's brother was doing and gave a hearty laugh at James' elaborate greeting. Once everyone was seated, Slughorn walked to the front of the room to start the lesson. "Settle down, settle down, please! Quickly, now, lots of work to get through this afternoon! Golpalott's Third Law... who can tell me —? But Miss Evans can, of course!" Lily recited at top speed: "Golpalott's Third Law states that the antidote for a blended poison will be equal to more than the sum of the antidotes for each of the separate components."

"Precisely!" beamed Slughorn. "Ten points for Gryffindor! Now, if we accept Golpalott's ThirdLaw as true which means, of course, that assuming we have achieved correct identification of the potions ingredients by Scarpin's Revelaspell, our primary aim is not the relatively simple one of selecting antidotes to those ingredients in an of themselves, but to find that added component which will, by an almost alchemical process, transform these disparate elements —". Ines was sitting beside Lily with her mouth half open, doodling absently on his new copy of "One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi". Ines kept forgetting that she could no longer rely on Sirius Sirius to distract her from the boringness of the class, as she wishes to keep Slughorn's good opinion of her. It was quite hard. "and so," finished Slughorn, "I want each of you to come and take one of these vials from my desk. You are to create an antidote for the poison within it before the end of the lesson. Now to assign groups," He ignored the collective groan from the students as he peered among his students. "Let's have Emmeline Vance with Remus Lupin, Gemma Farley with Geoffrey Hooper, Peter Pettigrew with Dorcas Meadows, Kenneth Towler with Mulciber, James Potter with Lily Evans, Evan Rosier with Bertha Jorkins, Mary MacDonald with Severus Snape, Sirius Black with Marlene McKinnon, and let's have the two Avery's together! Good luck, and don't forget your protective gloves!"

The room seemed to stir as the Avery twins stiffened in their seats, it was widely known that the two didn't speak to each other unless it was vital. The students moved slowly, moving past both Ines and Oberon who were momentarily frozen in their seats. Ines was snapped out of her gaze when a vial appeared in front of her, Sirius had gotten one for her, giving her a pitying look, trying to push as much wordless support to her as possible. She whispered a thank you, avoiding both his and Marlene's looks and opened her book. She ignored her brother sitting beside her, who was doing the same. Annoyed, Ines uncorked the poison which was a garish shade of pink, and tipped it into his cauldron and lit a fire underneath it. The twins worked wordlessly as if they had an unspoken agreement on what they were each to do.

Ines crushed her roots with the flat side of the dagger. Hastily scooping it all into the cauldron she saw, to her surprise, that the potion immediately turned exactly the shade of lilac described by the textbook. This was because, Oberon had taken care of every other step needed, without having said anything to Ines. She then had to stir counterclockwise until the potion turned clear as water. According to the addition the previous owner made, however, Oberon had already started. Ines held in her anger and sat and waited for the next step. Oberon stirred counterclockwise, held his breath as he saw Slughorn make his way over to them, and stirred once clockwise. The effect was immediate. The potion turned pale blue.

Slughorn moved slowly among the tables, peering into cauldrons. He smiled ruefully at the tar-like substance in Sirus and Marlene's cauldron. It was quite obvious Sirius didn't care about the lesson and stifled a laugh at Marlene's disappointment. Ines assumed she was hoping to impress him with her knowledge. He made no comment, but occasionally gave the potions a stir or a sniff. He passed over James and Lily's navy concoction. To which he gave an approving nod, At last, he reached the table where Ines and Oberon were sitting. He saw theirs, and a look of incredulous delight spread over his face. "The clear winner!" he cried to the dungeon classroom. "Excellent, excellent, Avery, and eh Avery! Good lord, it's marvelous. You are truly the perfect pair, you work together seamlessly! Congratulations! 15 points to both houses!"

Neither of them smiled or made any movement at all. Slughorn hadn't noticed as he was now looking at Remus and Emmeline's potion, but most of the class did. They had yet to look at each other, having worked by only looking at the other hands. Nothing anyone said would make Ines look her brother in the eye, and say 'good job' as she should have. Oberon knew that if their parents were here, he would have said something. But he was somewhat free to do what he pleased at school, and if that meant avoiding Ines, then so be it.

The class filed out, Slughorn bidding them goodbye - as well as kudos to the Avery twins - before closing the door. Ines waited on the opposite side of the hall for Lily to exit as she had been the first out the door, leaving Oberon in her dust. When she finally exited she was flanked on both sides by Severus and James. Severus seemed to be trying to speak to her but was continually distracted by James' intimidating stare. One Severus finally gave up and walked off, Lily turned to James and gave him a slap on the shoulder and walked away. The girls then walked down the corridor side by side on their way to the great hall for dinner. Lily was complaining to Ines as she was quite frustrated with how her potion came out. Lily had been waving her wand enthusiastically over her cauldron. Unfortunately for most, they could not copy the spell she was doing because she was now so good at non-verbal incantations that she did not need to say the words aloud. James, however, was muttering, "Specialis revelio!" over his cauldron, which sounded impressive, so Sirius and Marlene hastened to imitate him.

Before Ines could ask how she worked with James her name was called behind her. She turned to find Sirius, who had run ahead from his friends, all of which were looking at him only a bit confused. He held onto her arm, watching his surroundings for the rest of the class to walk past them. Oberon sent Ines a scowl, to which Ines sent back along with a rude gesture. Turning back to Sirius he gave her a knowing look "Yeah, that was what I was going to ask you about. I was ready to hex Slughorn once he partnered the two of you.". Ines laughed, noticing his hand was still around her arm. "Yeah, it didn't help that he had to proclaim that we work well together numerous times".

They began walking, he let go of her arm. "I wanted to make sure you were, ya know, ok. I know I wouldn't be if Slughorn had paired me with Regulus per se.". She smiled sincerely at him, "Thank you, and I'm fine. Just upset. Sometimes I wish that it wasn't this way between us. I don't believe in time healing us. I think time will only let us accept the pain we feel, as we grow with it and live with it. I've cried plenty over it. But I think that there is a set amount of crying your body needs to deal with any trauma. There's a certain water-level of tears you need to shed until you can find acceptance or move on or whatever. And, if you don't cry them out, they just catch up with you."

Sirius took a moment to contemplate her words, gazing at her with a small smile. "I think we'll both benefit from learning to let go of it all. All we can do is move on and stop wasting time. Rehashing the past wouldn't change anything. Time to move forward.". They had now made it to the entrance of the great hall. They looked out at their peers. Ines spotted Oberon talking to Regulus, a rarely present smile on his face. Ines wanted so badly to be happy for him, but she couldn't. Before long, their friends noticed them standing there and called them over. Marlene was quite unhappy with them walking in together but quickly hid it by putting on a bright smile for Sirius. He didn't notice.


	7. Chapter Five

Walking down to the quidditch pitch was quite exhilarating, even if they weren't playing a game. With her brand new Comet 220 in one arm and her Beaters bat in the other, she walked down the path with James and Sirius. They had gotten changed to their robes out of excitement and to look superior next to the rest of the students trying out. Ines had been told she was guaranteed a spot, but this didn't stop her from preparing to play hard. She doubted many students would try out to be a beater, she felt that her and Sirius' place on the team was pretty cemented across the school.

When she initially tried out in the third year, she was beyond terrified. Not of flying, or the bludger, but what her parents would think. Starting quidditch was a first - and quite large - step in Ines' conscience no longer being haunted by her parent's expectations. Doing something that rebelled against them but felt so good, was exhilarating. She found that the secret to happiness is freedom, and the secret to freedom is courage. Something that she most definitely exhibited as she believed her immense courage got her spot on the team. She had waited until the very last second to hit the bludger as it pelted towards her, partially out of shock and wanting to show off, and then knocked it so far across the field that it went through the opposing goal post.

Once they made it to the pitch, they found that many students were already there. Half of Gryffindor House seemed to have turned up, from first years who were nervously clutching a selection of the dreadful old school brooms to seventh years who towered over the rest, looking coolly intimidating. Ines looked around, bemused at the variety of people before Gavin rushed over to her. His Keeper padding slowed him down a bit, making him look a bit ridiculous. "Oh Ines, thank Merlin you're here. I needed someone to run trials with me." Before she had a second to refute it, she had been pulled by the arm away from Sirius and James - both of whom sent her annoyed looks - and into the midst of students.

Very few of them had noticed her arrival, but most of them continued to talk amongst themselves. Gavin was struggling to get their attention, repeatedly yelling 'Alright' in soft and nervous tones with no confidence. Ines couldn't take it any longer, yelling "Shut it!" at the top of her lungs. She suddenly had the eyes of over 30 students on her. Luckily, attention was something she learned to strive off of, even though it wasn't an entirely positive thing. "Hello everyone, welcome to trials. If you're a first year I advise you to leave now." A chorus of high pitched groans, as well as muffled laughter, ensued. Gavin then took over, not trying to be upstaged by Ines "Alright, we need to fill Seeker and two Chasers, so those of you looking for those positions will go first. The rest of you all, afterward."

Ines decided (and Gavin agreed) to start with a basic test, asking all applicants for the team to divide into groups of ten and fly once around the pitch. This was a good decision: the first ten was made up of first years, and it could not have been more obvious that they had hardly ever flown before. Only one boy managed to remain airborne for more than a few seconds, and he was so surprised he promptly crashed into one of the goal posts. The second group was comprised of ten of the silliest girls Ines had ever encountered, who, when Gavin blew his whistle, merely fell about giggling and clutching one another. They were quite distracted by a now shirtless Sirius, practicing with James. The third group had a pileup halfway around the pitch. Most of the fourth group had come without broomsticks.

Gavin flew over to Ines, who was watching them all from above, looking eager. "So, what are your thoughts?". Ines didn't take her eyes of the pitch, speaking quite glumly with an impassive look on her face. "Most of them are horrendous, I think we've got our seeker though, Eunice Murray is quite good, fast on the broom, 4th year so he has time to improve. Don't mind my obvious bias, but we should obviously keep James, he's the best seeker Gryffindors had in a long time. The other Chasers could be Catriona McCormack and Darren O'Hare, they work quite well together.". Gavin seemed to be taken aback by her sudden leadership, unsure of how to react. He eventually mumbled "I think the same.", and they both flew down to the ground.

"Now," Gavin said, seeming to have gained some confidence. "We don't need any Keepers, So I guess now just the one Beater?". Ines turned to him, confused. "One Beater?". He nodded, pausing now trying to maintain a confident face. Ines didn't buy it, there was no time to swoon over a boy on a Quidditch pitch. "I know you said I was guaranteed a spot and all that flirty nonsense but I'm still gonna try out." She patted him on the shoulder, leaving him slightly awestruck, and walked over to join Sirius. He was swinging his bat aimlessly, talking to a horde of swooning girls. James eyed her, quite clearly annoyed. There were a few girls talking to him, but he had no interest in any of them.

"Sirius!" She yelled, catching his attention as well as all the surrounding girls. They were quite annoyed that his attention was no longer on them and whispered to each other. "Let's go, we have to go make Beaters.". He grinned and began his walk away from the girls, all of whom didn't want him to leave. Ines wasted no time waiting for him and walked over to Gavin. "So, are you going to ask these idiots to leave?" She said, nonchalantly. "What?" he exclaimed. "Well, we've got our seeker and our chasers. We already know you're Keeper. We don't need the rest of them." He stammered for a moment, before noticing Ines' hand on his shoulder, and a new breath of confidence swept through him. As Ines walked away, she heard Gavin's voice bellow "Alright, we've got what we need. Congratulations to Eunice Murray, Catriona McCormack, and Darren O'Hare. If you're not any of them or trying out for Beater you can get out!"

A 6th-year boy who had tried out for chaser was not happy with this. "You deliberately left the trial of the Beaters until last! hoping for an emptier stadium and less pressure on your obvious favorite!" he said, pointing to Ines. Ines had partially noticed this as well. Unfortunately, however, all the rejected players and a number of people who had come down to watch after a lengthy breakfast had joined the crowd by now, so that it was larger than ever. Before Gavin could reply, Ines stepped forward. "You heard him, it's his final decision and if you don't get out of the way of the beaters I'll hex you," she bellowed. He didn't have a reply that would top Ines' and walked away along with the rest of the rejected players. Sirius' fan club was cheering as he did practice laps, but they quieted down once Ines caught up to him on her broom. "I thought that prat had promised you a secured spot?". "He did," she replied "But I'm not going to sit there like an idiot. Also, I wouldn't want my best beating partner to be left high and dry without me.". He laughed, it was obvious to most that the two of them worked well together. They were an even match when it came to Quidditch talent, both having an immense amount of drive and courage. After a few more practice laps, they joined the rest of the students, all of whom were looking to take their spot. The pool of people was much smaller than the others, a few people thought they could take Sirius and Ines' spot on the team. Gavin had set up a mock quidditch game, having the chasers try and shoot on him and practice passing the Quaffle, and set out a basic Snitch for Eunice to work with. In order to put the Beaters under the high stress of having players fly around them, while also trying to protect them. He asked for all the prospective Beaters to find a partner to fly with. As expected, a few people had asked Ines and Sirius, hoping that out of sheer luck they would say yes, but to no avail.

The first pair of boys seemed to be frightened of the Bludger, trying more to avoid it than to seek out, almost leading to James being knocked in the head. The second pair wasn't that bad, the girls had strong arms but were hesitant to chase the Bludger. The third pair was quite unfortunate, one of the boys was quite good, but the other was a bit more focused on a long-haired boy on the pitch who happen to pay her no mind and speak to Ines. The fourth pair was made up of two boys that had boasted their skills to Ines minutes previous but seemed to be made up of all talk as one of them flew straight into the line of fire of his partner and was knocked off his broom.

Finally, it was Ines and Sirius' turn. Once in the air, Ines spotted all her roommates in the stands cheering her on. They held their bats in hand, waiting for the balls to be released. "Ready Ines!" Sirius shouted, shooting her a sparkling smile. "You know I am!" She shouted back, swinging her bat around. The moment the balls were released the pitch went into a frenzy. One of her great joys in life was being on the team. There is a great sense of freedom in soaring through the sky. She loved being able to get a different perspective up above. Seeing things that aren't so apparent from the ground.

Eunice stared around for the Snitch; there was no sign of it. Moments later, James scored on Gavin after multiple passes between Catriona, Darren, and himself. Sirius and Ines went for their usual approach. Whoever is close to the bludger goes and finds it, and the other positions themselves at where they need to be. They were stellar, the bludgers never even made it near any of the players. The stands had become increasingly popular, as did the cheers every time they heard the crack of the bat. "Looking good Ines!" Gavin called, as she hit a bludger across the pitch. She flew over to him briefly, as the Chasers with the quaffle was quite far from them. "So I'm guessing I've made it on the team?" She asked playfully. He grinned "Obviously.". "Sirius as well?" She asked, flying away. His smile faltered the slightest, which Ines noticed a bit. "Well, I don't think anyone else who tried out will be any good, and if you think it's best.". Ines smiled brightly, glad that she had the confirmation of her best friend being on the team again with her. "Gavin you are wonderful, I'm so glad.". She said, slightly teasing him. He smirked, but he didn't get a chance to respond as a bludger hit him square in the face. Ines gasped, looking behind her to find Sirius a ways away, holding his bat out. "Sirius!" She yelled, fury evident in her tone "What the bloody hell was that!". He flew closer, "My bad! I was hitting it towards my partner as I usually do. Seems she was a bit distracted." His voice was dripping in sarcasm. "Not my fault his head was in the way!".

She kept an impassive face, staring him down before she turned away and flew to where Gavin was, holding his bloody nose. She held onto the head of his broom, preparing to steer him down to the ground, but he stopped her. "It's alright" he muttered, his speech slurred by the outpour of blood from his nose "I've got it.". She pulled her wand out from her pant leg and pulled Gavin's hand from his face; the blood was dripping onto his uniform now. "Episkey" she muttered, fixing his nose. He flew to the ground on his own and walked past all the people swarming over to him, slightly angered. Sirius had made it to Ines now, who was staring down at the scene below. The people who had rushed to him were now following him to the hospital wing. "You think he'll still let us on the team?". Sirius asked, now right beside her. She tried her best to stifle a smile, he caught it but didn't say anything. "I think so, he was just saying that if I think it would be best for you to be on the team, that he'd allow it. I hope the bludger to the face will double as a reminder to your strength and not your alleged poor aim."

She flashed him a smile, seemingly catching him in his lie, and they flew to the ground. She was immediately rushed by James, followed by Lily and Remus. "You sly prat, poor aim was it?" James tackled him playfully, grappling his back and pushed him away. Leaving Ines standing with Lily and Remus, "Your boyfriend still letting you on the team?" Remus muttered, causing Ines to shove him. "Yes," she said, now walking towards the locker room "I'm hoping Sirius as well.". Lily chuckled "Ah so now you'll have two boyfriends on the team." Ines glared at her, "I'm the one with the bat here I'd watch your words.". They backed up, laughing before Ines walked away and into the locker room.


	8. Chapter Six

To an innocent bystander, Remus' behavior the past month could pass as only a mere sickness. To someone a bit closer, they'd be a bit more aware of his health as he was sick seemingly every month without fail. To his friends, he was constantly sick and it was best to not to ask in fear of getting pummeled. His closest friends guarded his secret with their lives, as well as risking it. The boys had become animagus for Remus the year before, after finding out about his lycanthropy in the second year. Ines had found out about it all in their third year. She had been asked on her very first date by a fourth year Ravenclaw named Edward Carmichael. They had gone to the astronomy tower after curfew, a place Ines and Sirius frequented often. He had kissed her in the moonlight, her very first kiss.

The moment was cut short by an unintelligible sound. Edward had gotten frightened, and decided to cut their night short and walked Ines back to Gryffindor house. She waited until he had been long gone and decided to investigate. She made her way to the front entrance and through the front doors which strangely enough had been left open. Walking through the grounds the sound became clearer and clearer until she was able to distinguish it as a howl. Before she could investigate any further, she spotted the four boys emerging from the whomping willow. She scurried back to the castle, in utter shock due to all of them being covered in bloody scratches and bruises, and hid behind the statue of the architect of Hogwarts.

He was riding a horse with a miniature model of the castle in his hands. She was able to hide between the end of his pedestal and the wall. Hidden from any onlookers by the shadow of both the statue and the wall. When the boys entered, not seeing her, the spoke of Remus' lycanthropy. Ines emerged from the shadows and embraced Remus and all the boys, assuring Remus that she would love him no matter what. From that, they told her everything and kept her clued in on Remus' happenings.

The statue had become a common theme, every night since then. Ines dropped every date she had with whatever meaningless boy on the night of the full moon and spent it hiding in the space by the statue. Ever since that night, the boys could trust that they would have a caring and kind face to greet them after a hard night. This came with numerous detentions, missed Hogsmeade trips, and scoldings from teachers but she hasn't cared. The letters sent home to her parents due to the fact increased their dislike of her, but as it was with good intentions she didn't care.

This night wasn't any different, Ines had turned down a study date from a kind Hufflepuff boy named Owen Caudwell who thankfully took his rejection gracefully. As Ines and the boys made their way down, they spoke almost casually, as nights like these - despite being high intensity - were a regular occurrence now. Remus had already been brought to the shrieking shack by Madame Pomfrey. Peter was struggling to keep pace with the rest of them, but made conversation all the same "Ines, have you by any chance done the transfiguration essay?". "Nope!" she said, popping her 'p'. She turned to Sirius and smirked, neither of them had done it. They had set aside time last week to do their essays, but instead sat in the astronomy tower charming branches to fall off trees and hit the people underneath them. "Damn" Peter muttered, "I haven't done it either, and I still don't understand Inanimatus Conjurus spell at all.". They walked in silence for a few more minutes. Nobody really wanting to step up and help Peter. As much as they care for him, he wasn't a top priority when it came to their friends. Once in the entrance hall, the light of the full moon shone in from the open door, and the seriousness of the situation fell upon them. At this point, all their jokes and playfulness stopped. Ines turned to the boys, clasping her hands together and looked at them lovingly. The immense amount of pride she held for her friends for risking so much for Remus every month was insane. "Well, good luck, please be safe." She said, with a solemn smile. They walked to the door, Ines with them to walk them out. Before they all slipped out Ines gave a quick hug to Sirius and whisper to 'be safe'.

She parked herself in her usual spot, having only her wand and a pack of sugar quills, leaving her with not much to do. Over the past two years, the level of anxiety regarding the situation had decreased, so she was able to relax somewhat. She ate the entire pack of sugar quills and charmed a loose frog to dance for a bit, she was doing anything to take her mind away from the fact that her friends were outside risking their lives. She was passed by a few house elves, cleaning the school, as well as Severus Snape. He had become a prefect this past year, meaning he was now subject to midnight patrols. Ines, despite thinking it would earn her a grain of respect from her parents, was glad she wasn't tasked with someone as daunting. He didn't notice her as he walked, and Ines barely noticed him. His greasy hair was the color of the night, and his dark robes didn't make it any easier.

After that, she waited yet another hour before she heard anything. It was a bunch of scurrying, heels clicking and muttering. She peeked out from behind the statue to find McGonagall dragging a girl down the hall. It was Cynthia Goodwin, a chaser in their year on the Ravenclaw team. She was quite spirited and usually well manicured. As they passed, she was able to hear McGonagall's words. "Absolutely despicable! What means do you have wandering the halls of Gryffindor tower? Professor Flitwick will hear if this!". Cynthia was quite annoyed by these words and mumbled things such as 'take it easy' and 'alright, alright'. At the last moment before they turned the corner McGonagall turned and peered at Ines. She gave what looked like a nod of approval and kept walking. Ines stared at the spot where she had just stood, in shock at the unexpected sentiment.

Another hour passed until the boys came back in, covered in their usual marks. James had a bleeding gash across his cheek that he was already mending to. Peter had a similar looking one on his calf. Sirius had marks all across his arm, not as deep as the rest of the boys but so populated they seemed to take over his arm. Ines took in a breath, deciding not to speak until they reached Gryffindor tower. Crossing through the common room to get to their dormitory always presented a risk, if some student was unable to sleep or something and decided to spend time down there, it was usually up to Ines to deter them. She had once gone as far to snog a 5th year the year before in order to get him to face the other way while the boys crept up the staircase. Luckily, it was empty and they made their way upstairs with ease. Once in the room Ines lighted all their lamps and sat on Remus' bed. "How was it?" She asked softly, knowing the answer wouldn't be positive. "Fine," James murmured "Could have been worse.". She pulled out a kit from Remus' bedside table containing some bruise healing paste, Skele Gro, Pepperup potion, and a small booklet of spells. He sat down beside her and she dabbed at his wound with a clear liquid. She handed Peter something similar as well. Once his wound was healed and she tended to make sure that Peter did it correctly they decided to head off to bed.

Sirius sat next to her before she was ready to tend to him. She was searching for the spell that would clear him of all the marks these scars would doubtedly leave. Finding the situation quite awkward she spoke to break the silence. "I saw McGonagall in the entrance hall, I think she saw me too.". His head snapped up to look at her now. "Detention I'm guessing.". "No, she just, well." She was unsure how to say it as it sounded like a bald-faced lie. "She just nodded at me and walked off. She was taking Brocklehurst girl to Flitwick no doubt.". Sirius paused, taking it all in, as had now Ines found the spell and began clearing his scars. "I bet she knows, obviously she knows about Remus but maybe that we try and help out.". Ines contemplated it for a moment, seeing some logic in his words. "Yeah, she's always a bit kinder the day after a full moon now that I think about it.". They sat in silence for only a few more seconds, not wishing to wake the boys. Ines stood, admiring her work and packed up Remus' kit. She made her way to the door, turning back to say "Sleep well" to a smiling Sirius and out she went.


	9. Chapter Seven

Remus had taken his time healing in the hospital wing, and everyone was glad to have him back and in high spirits. The chatter of the great hall surrounded them. Saturday lunches were always fun as students milled in and out as they pleased. Ines, Lily, and Emmeline were debating on the new robe shop that opened in Diagon Alley when their conversation was cut short by Gavin. He had healed just fine since the trials, and let Sirius on the team as well. The spoke often in the common room and during breaks, much about Quidditch and some about themselves. She learned he had an older brother who was training to become a healer at St. Mungo's, following in the footsteps of his mother. He proudly supported Puddlemere United, despite them being a longtime enemy of Ines' favorite team, the Holyhead Harpies. He was in his last year of school and was quite stressed for his N.E.W.T.'s, he was especially bad at Herbology but fairly proficient in the rest.

"Hey Ines", he said with a bright smile. The girls beside her scooted down the bench, leaving the two of them to talk alone and for Gavin to sit beside her. "I was wondering, with the upcoming Ravenclaw match if you would like to practice together." She smiled as well, causing him to blush a bit "I know I won't be too much help being a Keeper and all but maybe we could ju-". His words were cut off by someone sitting on Ines' other side. Sirius. He looked ruffled up, yet so put together. It's almost as if he was raised by wolves, but wolves who knew the value of a decent education and high-quality hair products. "Wouldn't it be better if Ines and I did it, Gudgeon? Me being her partner and all.". Ines couldn't make out Sirius' expression, he seemed to be trying very hard to keep it impassive. Gavin, on the other hand, didn't hide his emotion, he seemed in shock, as well as a bit angry. "I mean, whatever Ines thinks is best." He said, challenging Sirius. The girls were now staring at Ines, taken aback by the entire encounter. Ines glared at them as if to say 'what the bloody hell am I supposed to do?' but they could only shrug.

Ines avoided eye contact with either of them and stared ahead of her. "I mean, I think me and Sirius need to work on our skills, don't need Gavin getting hit in the face again.". It was silent for only a second, as the boys took in her answer and the surrounding people asked others closer what her answer had been. "Wonderful," Sirius replied, beaming "I'll meet you in the common room in a half an hour.". He got up from his seat, not yet finished with his meal, and strided out the door. Ines didn't make eye contact with Gavin as the whispered 'i'll see you later then' as he got up and walked away. Emmeline and Dorcas tried their best to bring the conversation back and rid the group of their awkwardness but to no avail. Once Ines finished her meal she excused herself and went to her dormitory to change. She changed into her Quidditch robes sans the cape and pads, with solely her house shirt and exercise pants and grabbed her broom and bat. Down in the common room she spotted Sirius sitting by the fire, talking to a 1st-year boy who seemed to be having trouble with 'wingardium leviosa', he tried his best to help him but all was well when Ines leaned over from behind the boy and guided his hand in the correct fashion. 'Swish and flick' she muttered, the boy now lifting the book from the table with ease. He giggled in excitement and turned around to thank Ines before running up the boy's staircase, most likely to show his friends. Sirius smiled softly at her, and she gazed back at him with the faintest traces of a smile for only a second before they both turned away. "Well, off we go," he said, grabbing his broom and beaters bat to head out the door, to which Ines did the same.

Walking through the halls, they passed a few people they recognized, only being stopped once by a girl asking where Sirius was going so fast and if he wanted to make a quick detour. Ines took that opportunity to give the girl her worst glare which scared her off. All was good - they spoke of James' new inclination towards throwing back his head and laughing every time Lily passed as if someone had just told him the funniest joke of his life - until they passed their brothers. Oberon and Regulus were not flanked with their usual goons and looked quite nice. Regulus was smiling brightly and speaking with his hands and Oberon smiled back at him, hanging on to every word. The two of them slowed down slightly at the sight of their siblings. Regulus brought his hands down and Oberon looked at anything but Regulus and Ines. They passed each other silently. Sirius and Ines didn't speak of the encounter and continued their previous conversation, but much less lively as before.

Once on the pitch, they shot into the afternoon's sky. Completely alone in the sky, it was as though they had been plunged into a fabulous dream, past swirls, and turrets of snowy clouds. Sirius flew beside her, challenging her which she took without question. He swooped down to the right in a big semicircle, ending facing her. Slowly they climbed upward, until they were almost vertical, flying straight up to the sun as if the speed was an aphrodisiac. They giggled as the wind started whipping their hair in every which direction until they reached an unspoken agreement to slow down and stop and look down on the view. The towers of the castle, patched unevenly with black ivy, arose like a mutilated finger from among the fists of knuckled masonry and pointed blasphemously at heaven. At night the owls made of it an echoing throat; by day it stood voiceless and cast its long shadow.

It had become Ines' second home, and she knew Sirius felt the same. All of it, the towering walls and turrets, beams as great as trees, arched doorways wide enough for processions to pass through, ceilings so cavernous that owls nested in them. The wings and ramparts and thin windows from which to shoot arrows, internal courtyards, banquet rooms, hidden doors, secret passages. It housed sculptures and paintings, tapestries and cushions, carpets and carvings, its fortressed heart had been clad in gilt, silver, glass, gold, damask, ivory, ermine.

Ines looked up from the view of the castle to find that Sirius was already looking at her. She gazed back at him and decided he looked like a deity – the perfect balance of danger and charm, he was at the same time fascinating and inaccessible, distant because of his demonstrated flawlessness, and possessing such strength of character that he was dismaying and at the same time utterly attractive in an enticing and forbidden way. Before anything could happen, he cleared his throat "I'll go and release a Bluder. Or do you think two would work as well?". Ines cleared all her thoughts and filled them with Quidditch "Two would be fun, the more the merrier.". He smiled and flew down, and she followed suit. What could have been hours passed, they had had a blast hitting the Bludgers every which way. At one point it turned to a playfully violent game, hitting the Bludgers directly at each other and claiming it was to practice their 'reflexes'. At one point, Sirius put away the Bludgers in their case and called to Ines asking if she wanted to fly over towards the black lake, to which she obliged. They passed Hagrid's hut, the smoke from his fireplace billowing out the top. They spotted the giant squid, its tentacles breaking the surface every once in a while.

They flew around the field, soaking in the thrill until the sky turned dark and the lights from the caste are the only things that illuminated the night. They had not initially planned for their practice if you could even call it that, to take them that long as it was no doubt pass curfew. They had missed dinner at this point too. But the view of the sky above them made it worth it. She had always liked the night. Without the dark, they would never see the stars, and the constellations they lived in. They were now hovering above the shore of the lack, gazing upwards at the skies. "Sometimes" Ines muttered, turning to Sirius who had already been looking at her. "I imagine stars looking down making wishes on the brightest of us.". He pondered it for a moment, before smiling softly "I wonder how many stars have wished on us?". Ines gazed back at him, briefly thinking of how grateful she was that she had found someone who appreciated the strange things she said. She smiled, pulling herself and her broom upwards, "hopefully, many.". He did the same, following her back to the pitch.

They met the ground and each took a handle of the Bludger case to bring it back to the shed. Once they had finished, they stowed their brooms and beaters bats in the locker room, and walked up to the castle, seeing with only the dim light of Ines wand as to not draw any attention to their rule-breaking stroll. Once Ines had gotten into Gryffindor and learned to accept the new life that she was bound to live she decided that sometimes it's very good to break the rules and do what you want and supposed not to do. It gives a new mold to life. New places, music, new weather and on a very right time, it feels awesome with your favorite songs, and by knowing that, someone is caring about you in somewhere else, in the castle, in her home,that gives a feeling that will fill your heart with the joy of happiness and the proud of having a good life which is full with surprises and sometimes adventures too.

They were able to slip through the open front door with ease and had to resort to solely sheer dumb luck to get them back to Gryffindor Tower without getting caught. They passed the great hall, scurrying past house elves as they cleaned and swept underneath the tables. Before Sirius could turn out of the entrance hall Ines grabbed his arm. "Do you want to grab something to eat? I'm starving" He nodded and whispered, "of course". They took a left before the staircase and turned in to the hall in which Peeves often frequented, which the Ines and the boys had coined as 'Poltergeist Passage'. Once they reached their destination She stretched out her forefinger and tickled the huge green pear. It began to squirm, chuckling, and suddenly turned into a large green door handle. Sirius grabbed it,

pulled the door open to reveal the room. The Hogwarts kitchens is an enormous, high-ceilinged room, as large as the Great Hall above it. Mounds of glittering brass pots and pans are heaped around the stone walls, with a great brick fireplace at one end of the room. Next second all the wind had been knocked out of them as a horde of squealing elves hit them hard in the midriff, hugging them so tightly they thought their ribs would break. Bloomey, Topky, Koddy, Zispy, looked up at them in delight. "Mister Black! And Missus Avery! How can we be of service?" Zispy asked. Ines couldn't help but chuckle every time she was with them, they were always over the moon to see them. "We haven't had any dinner and were wondering if there were leftovers.". The house elves bellowed at this, scoffing as if it were an unreasonable question. "Well, of course, there is! Over here, mister and missus!" Koddy exclaimed. They grabbed their hands and pulled them further into the kitchen.

They made it to the portion in which the identical tables to that of those upstairs to find 2 set up places at the ends, as the house elves further in had heard their request and scurried to comply. At least a hundred little elves were standing around the kitchen, beaming, bowing, and curtsying as Sirius and Ines were led past them. They were all wearing the same uniform: a tea towel stamped with the Hogwarts crest and tied like a toga. Once they reached the end of the table Sirius spoke: "Thank you all but we were hoping to eat it up in our common room." Ines turned to Sirius in confusion as they had not agreed on that but it was no harm, so she went along with it. "Of course Mister Black and Missus Avery! We will pack it up for you!" Bloomey yelled, pointing to various things as to delegate tasks to the surrounding elves.

They struggled to keep quiet as they walked considering the excess food they held but managed just fine until they reached the corridor past the Owlery. They heard the sound of heels clicking, coming closer to them. Sirius heard it before Ines and grabbed her by the waist and pulled her underneath a staircase, and into the gap before the stairs met the wall. They stood side by side, Ines' back to Sirius' front, breathing heavily yet trying to stay silent. They waited in anticipation to see the back of McGonagall stride past them. Standing silently, Ines became aware of her close proximity to Sirius. She found that she loved the heat of his stomach against her back, of his arms around her, of her hands clinging on to his. In that moment, she understood how unbelievably easy it was with him. She wasn't aware how long they stood like that, it could have been minutes, hours or days. But eventually it came to an end, she walked out from their hiding spot and checked the corridor before beckoning him out.

"We have got to figure out how to avoid that" he muttered, as they scurried down the hall and whispered 'Dilligrout' to the portrait. The fat lady groaned, "Much too late for you both to be out and about.". Ines rolled her eyes "Merlin's beard. Please just let us in!". She humphed in annoyance but complied and the two of them climbed through the hole to find James, Remus, and Peter sitting in the common room. They were shocked by anyone being there at all but eased up when they saw the boys' playful smiles. "Did you guys lose a Bludger? What took so long?" They all laughed, now able to speak at a normal volume since they were in the confines of the common room. "Time just seemed to get away from us," Sirius said, plopping down in an open armchair across from James. "We missed you at dinner, thought to bring some food but assumed you would get it on your own." Peter piped up, now across from Ines who had seated herself in front of the fire facing the couch. "You assumed correct, although they gave us plenty more than we need so eat up." She said, placing her tray beside Sirius' who had done so moments previous.

They ate jovially, speaking of the upcoming Hogsmeade trip. Peter had lost all his quills and needed to go to Scrivenshaft's and they planned to go to The Three Broomsticks as they usually did. Sirius, who was a big fan of the newly instated owner and barkeep Madame Rosmerta. She was quite fond of him as well but was just as kind to James and Ines. She called the boys "quite the double act" with Ines as their "valiant ringleader". Once the conversation had died down and the food had dwindled to mere crumbs they bid each other goodbye. Ines hugged them all goodnight and walked up the stairs to the girl's dormitory, behind her she could head James teasing Sirius about something but she didn't know what. Once in the dorm, she found herself faced with the task of yet again getting into bed after an adventure with Sirius. Following suit, Lily looked up at her from her bed, smiling knowingly. "Fun night?" she asked, smirking. Ines rolled her eyes "go to sleep" she muttered, pulling her pajamas on. "Whatever you say, Mrs. Black.". Lily had fallen back onto her pillow before she could catch Ines reaction which wasn't much of anything. She froze, not knowing why the prospect shook her so much. She decided to ignore it, as much as she subconsciously didn't want to.


	10. Chapter Eight

Ines wanted to spend another day outside before it got cold and snow began to fall. She was able to convince Lily and Dorcas to take their studying, and for Emmeline, Mary, and Marlene to take their conversation to the courtyard. Ines had felt especially good that day, she had received a letter from her mother telling her that Molly Weasley was pregnant with her third child. Ines had no idea who Molly Weasley was, but had heard her mother complain plenty about her and her husband being blood traitors which made her good in Ines' eyes. Her mother often gossiped with other pureblood mothers, not wanting to fraternize with anyone below her high standards. Her mother had also written her to say that she was able to get the alterations done on Ines gown for the Malfoy wedding. As much as Ines had been dreading the event, she could never turn down an opportunity to look smashing.

She could hear Lily groan as they walked through the archway into the sunny courtyard. Despite the grassy lawn being littered with numerous students, Ines knew that Lily had an issue with the fact that the boys were there, more specifically James. They were seated around the fountain in the middle. Remus was reading, Peter was talking to a 3rd year Hufflepuff girl, James and Sirius were talking as they passed a Quaffle between them, no doubt James' doing. She didn't hate him but also didn't particularly love him. His infatuation with her was no secret, but she wasn't as receptive to it as James had hoped she would be. Remus spotted the girls from behind his book and waved at them, they all reciprocated. This action caused the attention of James and Sirius to be drawn to them. James smiled brightly "Alright, Evans!" calling across the courtyard. She smiled a polite smile, turning to Ines "I'll be going now" and stalked off to the grassy patch under the tree. "I'll meet you there!" Ines called, to not only Lily but the rest of the girls. Emmeline smirked slightly, and Marlene scowled as Ines walked over to where Sirius was sitting, smiling at her.

But before Ines could say any sort of witty comment that would wipe the smile right of his face, her view was blocked by a girl. Despite being behind her, Ines recognized her. Rather for her voice than the back of herself. "Sirius," She breathed, in her overly polite tone "How have you been, we haven't had the chance to catch up!". Cynthia Goodwin held a similar status to Ines and a name given to a few boys and girls across the school. Two sad eyes and one skanky smile, They practically pulse with the promise of promiscuity. They're easy to catch but too slippery to hold onto. Ines had never been too attached to anyone and found that others typically felt the same when it came to her. She wasn't an adventure, she was simply a prize to be had. Sirius and Ines found themselves at the head of the unspoken competition of sorts, one that they found no real intention of winning but had no problem continuing to try, despite there being no real end. Sirius smirked, his sultry glare practically emanating his confidence. "I'm doing fine Cynthia, yourself?". She beamed, and Ines rolled her eyes. "Fantastic. Listen, I was hoping that we could go to next Hogsmeade visit together, ya know, catch up?". There was a brief pause. One in which Ines found herself staring straight ahead, trying to convince herself that this couldn't possibly be happening right in front of her. All eyes of the boys were on her, all but Sirius' as they were too busy searching into Cynthia's. "Of course, I'll see you then Love." He muttered, giving her an alluring look.

She smiled, satisfied, and turned to walk away but was face to face with Ines. She was shocked for only a second, but it quickly turned into a malicious smile "Oh. Hi Ines didn't see you there.". Ines only glared, and Cynthia walked off. Leaving nothing between Ines and Sirius. She glared at him momentarily, conveying a look filled with both disgust and hatred. She took the seat next to him and turned to James. "We haven't had the opportunity to catch up did we?" Ines said, imitating Cynthia to the best of her ability, "You know, we haven't shagged in the fourth-floor broom cupboard by the charms class in quite a while.". She twirled her hair and pushed her chest up, pulling a dumb face mimicking Cynthia. The boys all laughed, all but Sirius "At least I'm getting shagged." he said, looking right into Ines' eyes. Ines turned to face him and leaned in "Who's to say I'm not" she whispered, before getting up and walking off in mock playfulness.

But she didn't get far before she heard someone shout "Give it back! Please, I need them.". She turned to see that Evan Rosier, flanked by Severus and Mulciber, was charming the books of a young Hufflepuff boy above her head and just out of his reach. Evan didn't notice Ines approach him until she grabbed the book from his charms clutches. She shoved it into the boy's arms and pushed him away from the situation. "Haven't you got anything better to do Rosier? Other than being an absolute tosser?" He brought his wand to his side and looked on Ines. She wasn't particularly short, but anyone compared to Evan looked like a house elf. "I could ask you the same. It's all just fun, ease up." Mulciber laughed behind him, somehow finding humor in the weakness of Evans comeback. "I'll ease up when you leave" Ines spat, bringing her wand under Evans jaw. She saw his breath catch, and he stared down at her, "I'd watch what you're doing Avery, you're forcing my hand. I doubt you'd like to spend the night in the hospital wing". She smiled, mocking him "Wonderful, if I get to punch a manic, lanky jerk in the face, my night will be complete, no matter where I spend it."

Before he could respond she heard a voice coming towards them "Rosier, back up." Oberon was standing with his wand drawn, staring at Evan and ignoring Ines. Evan scoffed and took a step back, "That's right, I forgot" he said in false seriousness, mocking Oberon "We can't touch her can we.". Oberon seethed and followed him with his wand. Ines couldn't believe him. After all these years when his main goal seemed to be to keep as far away from her as possible, he had asked this of his friends. He had driven such a deep stake into their relationship, it was now beyond mending.

Their summers and Christmas' spent at home were nothing but silent, only polite comments, and greetings. The fact that he had the nerve, regardless of how kind the gesture may or may not be, to 'protect' her disgusted her. Someone grabbed her arm, she knew it was Sirius, she could recognize his touch any day. She pulled from it, knowing he was restraining her from attacking her brother, but she wouldn't. He wasn't even facing her anymore, he was looking at Regulus. Regulus looked out of breath from hurrying over to them, and Oberon looked out of breath by just looking at him. Ines watched in fury as Regulus reached Oberon and reached his hand out, grabbing his arm just as Sirius did hers and ask 'what's going on, is everything ok?'. Oberon paused for only a second, before nodding and walking off, all his cronies following him. Ines watched them go until their black robes blended in with the shadows of the hallway.


	11. Chapter Nine

Walking down to Hogsmeade was a peaceful stroll as always. It wasn't snowing just yet, but it would be soon. Dorcas said she expected it to be snowing by their next Hogsmeade trip, being the one before Christmas. Ines walked with Lily and Mary, Emmeline had gone with some of her Ravenclaw friends and Marlene was going with some Slytherin boy she practically begged to take her. Ines was hardly paying attention to the girls' conversation, as she was too busy watching the boys ahead of her. James and Remus were walking gleefully, quite clearly on their way to Zonkos with Peter jogging to keep up with their large strides. Sirius was nowhere to be seen, as he was off somewhere with Cynthia. Ines had spotted them only once when Cynthia whisked Sirius from breakfast just as Ines had entered.

"Ines," Lily called her name, snapping her out of her trance of wondering what Cynthia's problem was "Were you even listening?". Ines chuckled a bit, "Sorry" she muttered. Dorcas laughed a bit as well, but her laugh quickly turned to a whisper "I heard from one of Gavin's roommates that he's been looking for you, wanted to ask you to Hogsmeade I suppose". The two girls giggled, and Ines stifled a smile, thinking that Dorcas knows more than she's letting on. "Who's his roommate?". Dorcas scoffed a bit, "Who cares?! Gavins trying to get you on a date and you want to know how I know that?!". Ines didn't respond, waiting for Dorcas to get over her dramatics "Cuthbert Mockridge." Dorcas deadpanned, Ines, laughed "The bloke who tried to teach me charms? When he scraped an 'Acceptable' on his O.W.L?" Lily scoffed at this, but Dorcas didn't find it as funny, "He may have been trying to get into your pants then, but now he's trying to get Gavin into your pants!". Ines laughed, walking where the girls led her until she realized they were at the entrance to the Three Broomsticks. Ines turned to Lily, "I thought you said you needed to grab more parchment?". Lily giggled, stealing a sly glance to Dorcas "I do, but you need to go into the pub.". Ines rolled her eyes, "Fine, as long as you get me sugar quills.". Dorcas rolled her eyes playfully, "Forget the sugar quills, just go.".

The Three Broomsticks was packed, mainly with Hogwarts students enjoying their free afternoon, but also with a variety of magical people that Ines rarely saw anywhere else. Ines supposed that considering Hogsmeade was the only all-wizard village in Britain, it was a bit of a haven for creatures like hags, who were not as adept as wizards at disguising themselves. It was very hard to move through crowds but she eventually edged slowly toward a table in the corner that Gavin was sitting at. He was quite visibly nervous, bobbing his leg up and down. He slowed and a smile spread across his face when Ines approached. "Funny seeing you here" she joked, sitting across from him. He chuckled, blushing. Madame Rosmerta approached them, looking for Gavin to Ines, confused, before asking what they would like. They each got a butterbeer and she set off, stealing one last glance before shaking her head.

In the time it took for their butterbeers to arrive, Sawyer Davies and his girlfriend beside them had started kissing over the table. But Ines didn't really mind. Sawyer had taken Ines on a date the year previous to a walk around the Black Lake, something Ines didn't enjoy as he then proceeded to jam his tongue down her throat the second they reached the Ravenclaw tower entrance. It seemed as though this Hufflepuff girlfriend didn't mind though. Sipping on their drinks, they spoke about Gavins N.E.W.T.S. He was looking for someone to help him with the Herbology section, and Ines recommended Remus which he greatly appreciated.

When their conversation had moved from N.E.W.T.S to the pompous first year named Gilderoy, Ines spotted something out the window. Sirius was walking alongside Cynthia, who was draped across his arm, practically already snogging him. He was holding a bag from Gladrags Wizardwear, holding something he no doubt bought for Cynthia. She felt her face growing hot and tried staring anywhere but our window, but she was so flustered it was hard. To postpone the moment when she would have to look at Gavin, she stared up at the ceiling as though examining the paintwork. After a few more painful minutes, Gavin mentioned Trelawney. Ines seized on the subject with relief and they passed a few happy moments abusing her, but the subject had already been so thoroughly canvassed during their other conversations that it did not last very long. Silence fell again. Ines was very conscious of the slurping noises coming from the table next door and cast wildly around for something else to say. It was raining now, but Gavin didn't seem to notice as he asked if she wanted to head back up towards the castle. They exited the pub and turned right and broke into a splashy run, and within minutes she was turning up the path towards the castle with Gavin by her side. She knew it was too early for any students to be back, as the time they were given was far from over. She shook her wet hair out of her eyes and saw Sirius further up the path with Cynthia. They seemed glued together at the lips, Sirius hand was snaked around her back and Cynthia's hand was running through Sirius' hair. Ines stood still, no longer caring about the pouring rain drenching her clothes.

"Ines?" Gavin asked, Ines turned to him, he was looking right at her, he hadn't seen Sirius and Cynthia. She was going to kiss him, and she was going to regret it. But at that moment, she couldn't bring herself to care. She stood on her toes and stole a soft kiss from his lips. He was surprised for a second, not moving, then he leaned down and kissed her back, his mouth lingering on mine, teeth grazing her lower lip, making her shiver. It was at first almost as if he hadn't wanted to kiss her. His mouth was hard on hers, unyielding; then he put both arms around her and pulled her against him. His lips softened. She could feel the rapid beat of his heart, taste the sweetness of butterbeer still on his mouth. She wound her hands into his hair, mimicking Cynthia. His hair curled around her fingers, silky and fine. Her heart was hammering, and there was a rushing sound in her ears, like beating wings. They broke apart, Gavin stared down at Ines, but she couldn't look at him. Not when there was a boy feet away, that she was unsure of whether he saw what had just happened. He laughed, and she put on her brightest smile before grabbing his hand and walking up to the castle.


	12. Chapter Ten

After dinner, the girls made their way back to Gryffindor Tower. The common room was empty, as most people had yet to finish dinner, so they managed to find a free table and sat down; Lily, who had been in a bad mood ever since a sour encounter with Severus, folded her arms and frowned at the ceiling. Mary reached out for a copy of the Evening Prophet, which somebody had left abandoned on a chair. Ines looked over her shoulder, skimming over all the words. Eugenia Jenkins was Minister for Magic from 1968 to 1975. She dealt "competently" with pure-blood riots and Squib Rights marches, but was not deemed able to deal with 'recent events' unknown and had been forced from office. The ministry was now considering Harold Minchum as her replacement, a strong force behind the increase of dementors in Azkaban.

Her focus was cut off by the sound of someone tumbling down the stairs, James slid down the girl's dormitory steps, which had turned into a slide. Lily stood from her spot "Potter, what are you doing!" he stood quickly at her voice and ruffled his hair. "Hello Lily-Flower, I was looking for Ines, but she wasn't in your room, and then I forgot about the steps.". He walked to Ines and grabbed her hand, now incredibly out of breath. "How did you get up there in the first place?" Emmeline called from behind them, James only turned and winked. He had taken advantage of his animagus form and made it up the stairs as a stag, as the steps wouldn't recognize him then. "Are you going to tell me what we're doing, then?' asked Ines, laughing slightly. "Up here," said James, and he crossed the common room and led the way through the door to the boys' staircase. She heard the boys from all the way down the hall, there were shouts of excitement and cheers, causing James to start running, pulling her behind him. Some students opened their doors, wondering what the source of all of it knows. Seeing Ines and James sprint in front of them answered their question, and they closed them.

They opened the door to find the three of boys huddled in the center of the room, bent over something. Ines had been up to their dorm numerous times, it was no longer strange. But, in the beginning, she always found it funny how easily their individual personalities came to light in their personal spaces. Remus' bed was always neatly made, his shoes lined up in a row underneath it. Peters wasn't nearly as neat, but rather messy, food wrappers littered the area around his bed, as well as various papers and homework assignments. James was almost as organized as Remus', but looked quite chaotic as it was littered with trinkets and posters all relating to either Quidditch or Gryffindor house. Sirius space was an even mix between James' and Remus' spaces, muggle magazines covered the foot of his bed, some she recognized as she had the same intent as him in buying muggle items to piss her parents off.

Remus looked up and smiled widely at her entrance, holding up a large charms book that he had gotten at last weeks Hogsmeade trip. "You've done it!" Ines yelled, realizing what they were fawning over. She ran over and slid into an open space next to Sirius. He felt him freeze up, but she ignored it, ever since she saw him and Cynthia she decided to block it out of her mind completely while secretly hoping he would do the same. James sat down behind Peter and watched Ines' expression excitedly.

Remus took out his wand, touched the parchment lightly, and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." And at once, thin ink lines began to spread like a spider's web from the point that his wand had touched. They joined each other, they crisscrossed, they fanned into every corner of the parchment; then words began to blossom across the top, great, curly green words, that proclaimed: Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present The Marauders Map. It showed every detail of the Hogwarts castle and grounds. But the truly remarkable thing was the tiny ink dots moving around it, each labeled with a name in minuscule writing. Astounded, Ines bent over it. A labeled dot in the top left corner showed that Professor Dumbledore was pacing his study; the caretaker's cat, Mrs. Norris, was prowling the second floor; and Peeves the Poltergeist was currently bouncing around the trophy room. She saw Gavin in the library with Cuthbert and a few other of his friends.

As Ines' eyes traveled up and down the familiar corridors, she noticed something else. The map showed the set of passages that lead right into Hogsmeade. "There are seven in all, and we've gotten them all. Now, Filch knows about these four," he pointed them out "but we're sure we're the only ones who know about these, and we don't reckon anyone's ever used this one but us, because the Whomping Willow is planted right over the entrance. But this one here is this one leads right into the cellar of Honeydukes". Ines gazed at it in awe, they had only told her bits and pieces about the map. They didn't have any definite plan to finish it and dabbled in the magic of its creation. It was incredible, not only that but the number of things they could now get away with was limitless.

"Don't forget to wipe it after you've used it or anyone can read it," Remus said warningly. "Just tap it again and say, 'Mischief managed' And it'll go blank.". Ines gazed up at him. "Have I told you you're an absolute genius lately?" her smile was bright, almost matching Remus'. Ines stood, making her way to Sirius bed to sit on his trunk "Marauders, huh, where'd you come up with that?". James was quite excited with his answer and showed Ines a book from his bed. It had a giant Pirate on the cover, something Ines only knew of thanks to Lily. "Remus gave me this book for Christmas last year, and there is this man whos talking about a group of boys piloting a ship," He opened the book to a marked page, "he says 'And so, my beloved son, my dear little boy, at the moment America changed forever, your father was traveling through open sea, nervously monitoring his surroundings, armed only with a bat, a 10mm pistol, and six rounds of ammunition, in search of a vicious gang of clever marauders who were 100 percent bad news and had to be dealt with before the wreaked any more havoc'," Ines smiled at him "Sounds a bit like you four". She looked at each of them in turn. All uniquely different, coming together to wreak havoc, yet in perfect harmony. She was so glad to have friends like them.


	13. Chapter Eleven

At a quarter to eleven, the Gryffindor team set off for the locker rooms. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. It was a clear, cool day with a very light breeze; there would be no visibility problems, and Ines, though nervous, was starting to feel the excitement only a Quidditch match could bring. They could hear the rest of the school moving into the stadium beyond. In the locker room, Ines took off her black school robes, removed his wand from her pocket, and stuck it inside her bag. The rest of the team changed into their scarlet robes and waited for a pre-match pep talk from Gavin, but it didn't come. He tried to speak several times, made an odd gulping noise, then shook his head hopelessly and beckoned them to follow him. They walked out onto the field to tumultuous applause. The Ravenclaw team, dressed in blue, were already standing in the middle of the field. Their Chaser, Cynthia Goodwin, was the only girl on their team. Ines couldn't help noticing, excited as she was, that she looked angry. She smiled at Ines maliciously as the teams faced each other behind their captains.

She turned to Sirius, who was gazing out at the crown and felt a slight lurch in the region of her stomach that she didn't think had anything to do with nerves. "Gudgeon, Downing, shake hands," Madam Hooch said briskly, and Gavin shook hands with the Ravenclaw Captain. "Mount your brooms... on my whistle... three - two - one -" Ines kicked off into the air, Sirius not far behind her, and soared around the stadium and began searching for the Bludgers. Listening all the while to the commentary, which was being provided by Pierson Ronan. "They're off, and the big excitement this match is the beautiful Ines Avery and the incredible Sirius Black, whom we all heard launched a Bludger straight at captain Gavin Gudgeon for reasons we can only assume are due to his immens-"

"Pierson, would you mind telling us what's going on in the match?" interrupted Professor McGonagall's voice. "Right you are, Professor - just giving a bit of background information - Now Gavin didn't seem to mind as he let him on the team, possibly due to the fact that Ines had a stake in the game, as well as in his hear-". "Ronan!" McGonagall interrupted. "Okay, okay, Gryffindor in possession, James Potter of Gryffindor, closely followed by Cynthia Goodwin heading for goal...". Ines didn't get a chance to hear the outcome of James race to the goal as she spotted a Bludger heading towards their Seeker, Eunice. She called Sirius name, as he lined himself up near the other teams Seeker. She reached Eunice just in time and used all her force to knock the Bludger towards Sirius who executed their plan perfectly. The Bludger pelted towards the Seeker, knocking him off course and completely disorienting him. The Gryffindors cheered, and Pierson joined in with them before yelling "Merlin's beard Avery and Black! What a perfect pairing! Surprised they aren't together by now". A slap from McGonagall shut him up for a few before he continued to commentate.

"a neat pass to Catriona McCormack, a good find of Gavin Gudgeon, - back to O'Hare and - no, the Ravenclaws have taken the Quaffle, Cynthia Goodwin gains the Quaffle and off she goes flying like an eagle up there - he's going to sc- no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Gudgeon and the Gryffindors take the Quaffle - that's Chaser James Potter of Gryffindor there, wonderful bloke, nice dive, off up the field and that's Goodwin again speeding off toward the goal posts, but she's blocked by a Bludger - sent his way by Ines Avery, she's looking angry Goodwin I'd watch out- nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Potter back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes - she's really flying - dodges a speeding Bludger - the goal posts are ahead 149- come on, now, Potter - Keeper Bletchley dives - misses - GRYFFINDORS SCORE!"

Ines cheered for her friend, pausing, looking down on the field. Pierson seemed to have noticed, and called out to her, still through the enchanted microphone "Alright Avery? Looking down on your teammates? Is it true you were seen snogging Gudgeon at the last Hogsmeade trip?" The laughs and jeers of the crowd were quickly cut off by the cries of defeat as Gavin missed the goal. He was wide-eyed and beet red, staring ahead of him. Ines sped off, listening to McGonagall chastise Pierson. Her path was blocked by Cynthia, nearly knocking her backward "Sorry Ines" she said, clearly not sorry at all "I was a bit distracted" Ines followed her gaze over to Sirius, who had just knocked a Bludger up near the Ravenclaw goalposts. Ines glared at her as she flew towards another Ravenclaw Chaser.

The points continued to rise, and Ines and Sirius continued to pelt bludgers across the field, quite normally. It wasn't until both Seekers turned into dives, gaining the attention of the whole field. Ines watched for only a second until she saw across the pitch, the Bludger fly past the goal posts. She took advantage of the whole team's inattention to fly towards it. The players had all gradually flown closer to the ground, following the Seekers. She took advantage of this moment and pelted the Bludger towards one specific player. She'd been told that revenge was not sweet, that it was bloody. She was wrong. It was sweet and bloody. For one fleeting, glorious moment she felt incredible satisfaction. The surrounding cheers, despite being for the Seekers and not her, made her blood pump even louder. Ines landed, following her teammates, all rushing towards Eunice who jumped gleefully, Snitch in hand. Nobody had seen what she had done, her teammates all surrounded her, asking if she was ok. But Ines didn't care, all she could feel was the strong arm around her waist, bringing her up to the castle. Ines, feeling happier than she had in ages, she and the rest of the team led the way, still in their scarlet robes, out of the stadium and back up to the castle.

It felt as though they had already won the Quidditch Cup; the party went on all day and well into the night. Remus and Peter disappeared for a couple of hours and returned with armfuls of bottles of butterbeer, pumpkin fizz, and several bags full of Honeydukes sweets. "How did you do that?" squealed Marlene as Peter started throwing Peppermint Toads into the crowd. "With a little help from Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs," Remus muttered into Ines' ear. She smiled grabbing the Firewhiskey from his hand. She danced and celebrated with her house, she got refill number three or four of the Firewhiskey making her bones lose and giving her hair freedom from its ponytail and her eyes looked sultry and wise. She closed my eyes. Golden light shines through her eyelids in wavering patterns of red and yellow. Figures dance and sway in the light, dark eyes flashing. She could feel Sirius next to her, his eagerness rise as if it were her own. It ebbs almost in the same instant. Only one person wasn't joining in the festivities. Lily, incredibly, was sitting in a corner, attempting to read an enormous book entitled 'Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles'. Ines broke away from the table where James and Sirius had started juggling butterbeer bottles and went over to her. "Did you even come to the match?" She asked her. "Of course I did," said Lily in a strangely high-pitched voice, not looking up. "And I'm very glad we won, and I think you did really well and that Cynthia is ok." Ines met her eyes, not saying a thing. Lily had seen her, but she continued to explain her reasoning for not joining the party "but I need to read this by Monday.". "Come on, get up Lily, and have some food," Ines said, slurring slightly. Lily smiled, almost pitifully, "I can't, Ines. I've still got four hundred and twenty-two pages to read!". There was nothing wrong with being a homebody. There was nothing wrong with not wanting - not needing - the constant jostle and noise of a party or bar or whatever it is appeased her. So she let her be.

Ines moved back over to the hub of people and found Sirius. Their bodies were lithe and young, the peak of youth and virility. Hips rolled, backs arched, hands twined in the air above them as they began to weave around one another in circles and lines. They stayed that way until the party died down, well into the morning. They found themselves to be the only ones not in a drunken stupor and asleep on the couches and chairs. "Sirius," she said, "how, exactly, do you decide whether you're drunk?" Aroused by the mere sound of her voice, he swayed alarmingly to one side but caught himself on the edge of the mantelpiece. His eyes drifted around the room, then fixed on my face. For an instant, they blazed clear and pellucid with intelligence. "Easy, if can stand up, you're not drunk." He let go of the mantelpiece, took a step toward her, and crumpled slowly onto the hearth, eyes blank, and a wide, sweet smile on his dreaming face. She smiled at his now sleeping form until she found herself the same. Tangled in his limbs just as he was hers, in front of the couch, heated by the flame of the fire.


	14. Chapter Twelve

Walking into breakfast that morning Ines spotted that Hagrid had already single-handedly delivered the usual twelve Christmas trees to the Great Hall; garlands of holly and tinsel had been twisted around the banisters of the stairs; everlasting candles glowed from inside the helmets of suits of armor and great bunches of mistletoe had been hung at intervals along the corridors. Large groups of boys tended to converge underneath the mistletoe bunches every time Ines went past, which caused blockages in the corridors. People filtered in slowly, but Ines stayed with the girls. All of them would be leaving for the upcoming holiday break. They spoke of their plans for the holidays until they were interrupted by a Slytherin first year boy. "I'm supposed to deliver these to Ines Avery and Lily Evans," he faltered, as his eyes met Ines' and she turned scarlet. He was holding out two scrolls of parchment tied with violet ribbon.

Perplexed, Ines and Lily took the scroll addressed to each of them and the boy stumbled away from them. "What is it?" Marlene demanded as Ines unrolled hers. "An invitation," she said aloud. "Miss Avery, I would be delighted if you would join me for a celebration tonight before the holidays. Sincerely, Horace Slughorn." Lily smiled brightly, looking down on her invitation. "I've been waiting for this!". Slughorn called the get-togethers "parties" or "suppers," and indeed, but they were essentially social networking events. "But what does he want me for?" asked Ines jokingly, as though he was expecting detention. "Oh that's right," Ines said sarcastically "He loves my father". Lily, who had rolled up her invitation, playfully smacked her with it, "and you're right skilled at potions! He'd be an idiot not to invite you.". Emmeline was very excited for them, as she was any fancy event. "You've got dresses haven't you?" While Lily nodded, Ines shook her head, but before Emmeline could freak she held up her finger "I'll go up to the owlery now and get a letter to Pippy to send mine over."

She took one last bite of her breakfast before she stood and bid the girls goodbye. Walking through the cold weather wasn't something Ines preferred, and she practically ran all the way there. In doing so she wasn't exactly watching where she was going and ran right into someone. She began to profusely apologize until she saw the laughing face in front of her. Sirius' long hair was covering most of his face, but she could recognize his face from anywhere. "Running from a dementor?" he asked, standing up and holding out his hand to help her. She took it gladly, "No, just wanted to get out of the cold". He nodded, and they walked the rest of the way up the stairs. "Slughorn's invited me to his Christmas celebration, I've come to get Pippy to send me a dress.". He nodded, chuckling slightly, "this is another party just for Slughorn's favorites, is it? James got invited as well". They were now in the Owlery, and as Ines walked, searching for her light gray owl she spoke "Lily's not going to be thrilled, at least he won't be asking her to go with him.".

She quickly wrote to Pippy on a spare piece of parchment and sent her owl away. She paused, realizing something, and turned to Sirius who was already gazing at her. "How would you like to come to Slughorn's party with me tonight?" The words were out her mouth before she could stop them; she heard herself say them as though it were a stranger speaking. He turned his protuberant eyes to her in surprise."Slughorn's party? With you?" "Yeah," said Ines, "We're supposed to bring guests, so I thought you might like.. I mean..." She was keen to make his intentions perfectly clear. " I mean, just as friends, you know. But if you don't want to..." She was already half hoping that he didn't want to. "Oh no, I'd love to go with you," said Sirius, beaming as she had never seen him beam before. " I'll meet you in the common room at eight o'clock then". She walked down the stairs with him and parted in the common room, where they would be meeting hours from then.

Her dress came two hours later, it was practically designed to be a kill switch for rational thought. She held the scarlet dress to her chest and posed in front of a mirror. She didn't understand why she felt she needed to dress up as much as she did for the event, but the impulse had been rising in her since breakfast. She took the dress and shoes back to the bathroom, then sat on the floor and painted her toenails and fingernails pale white. She rolled mascara on her lashes, then brushed her hair and snapped crystals in the long brown strands. She squeezed glitter lotion into her palms and rubbed it on her shoulders and arms. Last she took the dress and stepped into it. She turned to the mirror on the door. A thrill ran through her; her reflection astonished her. She looked otherworldly, a mystical creature, eyes large, skin glowing, eyelashes longer, thicker. Everything about her was more powerful and sleek and fairy tale. She leaned to one side. The dress exposed much of her thigh, but not so much that it would be utterly inappropriate.

She exited the bathroom and was faced with Lily, getting her hair done by Dorcas, in a floor-length green dress. She ran her fingertips lightly down the sides of the silk skirt. The color really was exquisite. A lustrous color, like the color of the grass in the fields beyond the Quidditch pitch. The sort of color a careless glance might mistake for the same as her eyes, but which rewarded close attention. Her jaw dropped, "Ines!". She twirled, her hair swirling around her. "Do you like it!" all the girls gave their affirmative and excited yes'. All but Marlene, "Sirius will love it, I heard him telling James that you'd asked him as your date.". Ines' smile faltered, what had he said? "Ehm, yeah, I did. I'm supposed to meet him down there in a few minutes, so I'd better get going.". She whisked past them, hearing Lily call saying she would be down in a minute. The sound of her heels echoed in the halls, she spotted girls peering through the open doors at her, some looking in awe, some in jealousy, some in almost disgust. But she didn't care, it all melted away once she walked down the stairs into the entrance to the common room.

Sirius was there, his gray eyes watching her every movement. It slowly began to dawn on him that he had been staring at her for an impossible amount of time. Lost in his thoughts, lost in the sight of her. But her face didn't look offended or amused. It almost looked as if she were studying the lines of my face, almost as if she were waiting. He wanted to take her hand. He wanted to tell her that she was the first beautiful thing that he had seen in forever. But even though she was attractive, there was something else about her that caught his eye. She was intelligent, he could sense that right away, and confident, too, as if she were able to move through life on her own terms. To him, these were the things that really mattered. Without them, beauty was nothing. She's was a walking poem, she's a perfect beauty, but at the same time very deep, very smart.

James nudged him in his side, snapping him out of his thoughts. She was in front of him now, her arm outstretched waiting for him to grab a hold. They walked out of the room, ignoring the surrounding students' stares. They heard James behind them, telling Lily she looked "smashing" and stepped out of the portrait hole.

"You look beautiful" he muttered, as they passed the painting of three gossiping witches, leading them to the dungeons. "Thank you," she said, the darkness of the hall hiding her blush "You clean up well yourself". He laughed, and they entered the room. The ceiling and walls had been draped with emerald, crimson, and gold hangings so that it looked as though they were all inside a vast tent. The room was crowded and stuffy and bathed in the red light cast by an ornate golden lamp dangling from the center of the ceiling in which real fairies were fluttering, each a brilliant speck of light. Loud singing accompanied by what sounded like mandolins issued from a distant corner; a haze of pipe smoke hung over several elderly warlocks deep in conversation, and a number of house-elves were negotiating their way squeakily through the forest of knees, obscured by the heavy silver platters of food they were bearing, so that they looked like little roving tables.

"Ines! And Sirius, m'boy!" boomed Slughorn, almost as soon as they had squeezed in through the door. "Come in, come in, so many people I'd like you to meet! Ah, and Ines, your father should be arriving soon!". She stopped had in her tracks, "My father is coming?". He seemed perplexed by her reaction "Why yes! I assume now that both his children are attending he would want to as well! Come, come" He led her to a table in which two people stood, conversing quietly. "Ines, I'd like you to meet Eldred Worple, an old student of mine, author of ' Blood Brothers: My Life Amongst the Vampires' - and, of course, his friend Sanguini." Worple, who was a small, stout, bespectacled man, grabbed Ines' hand and shook it enthusiastically; the vampire Sanguini, who was tall and emaciated with dark shadows under his eyes, merely nodded. He looked rather bored. A gaggle of girls was standing close to him, looking curious and excited. "Miss Avery, I am simply delighted!" said Worple, peering shortsightedly up into her face. "I was just telling Sanguini here that your father works within the Goblin Liaison office. Brilliant! Brilliant man!" Ines shuffled awkwardly, "Thank you, I must be going now, nice meeting you". At this moment all her childhood etiquette lessons flew out the window, as she grabbed Sirius arm and dragged them far from the gaggle of people. She led him to the refreshments table, and poured herself a glass of Firewhiskey, despite it being labeled 'not for student consumption'. They were able to speak privately for quite a while, most people watching. Lily had arrived, flanked by Remus and James. Slughorn introduced her to some man with a tattered coat, that the three of them talked to happily. They spotted Severus, talking to Regulus, something that made their blood boil. All the adults were mingling happily, yet peering at every face, as if sizing

Sirius chuckled, "Merlin, all these stuffy people, I could never be like them". Ines turned to face him and give her agreement, but over his shoulder, she spotted Oberon, with her father's tight grip on his arm. "Ines! Stop sulking and come and join us!" hiccuped Slughorn happily. She grabbed Sirius' hand and dragged him behind her, reluctantly making her way over to them "I was just talking about Ines and Oberon's exceptional potion making! Some credit must go to you, ever the scholar!" Trapped, with Slughorn's arm around his shoulders, Victor looked down his nose at Ines, and behind her at Sirius still gripping her hand, his black eyes narrowed. "Funny, I never had the impression that Ines was any good at potions." Slughorn found the idea preposterous and laughed as if it was a joke. "Well, she must a natural ability, the two of them!" shouted Slughorn. "You should have seen what they gave me, first lesson, an antidote to a swelling solution I had concocted. A perfect deflating draught if I do say so myself, i've never had any students produce finer on a first attempt! They work together absolutely perfectly!".

"Really?" said Victor quietly, his eyes still boring into Ines and his hand still gripping Oberon. "Remind me what other subjects you're taking, Ines?" asked Slughorn. Ines felt as though she needed some sort of permission to speak, her father tended to give that feeling off. "Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology...". "All the subjects required, in short, for an Auror," Oberon said with the faintest sneer. "Yeah, well, that's what I'd like to do," said Ines defiantly, ignoring the glare from her father. "And a great one you'll make too!" boomed Slughorn. Slughorn was in a drunken stupor, and in looking over Ines' shoulder he spotted a student that he wanted her father to meet. He dragged him off, something her father clearly didn't appreciate to a corner by the refreshments table.

Ines looked at her brother, and the two of them nodded at the same time, as if silently acknowledging the existence of the previous event and deciding to ignore it. She watched him walk off to where Regulus and Severus stood, before realizing her hand was still in Sirius'. She let go, and faced him fully, "That was rough, why'd I have to see him a day before I absolutely have to" she murmured, he nodded, swaying on the balls of his feet "yeah, don't think he likes me much". "Don't take it personally, he doesn't like me either". They stood silently, her words creating an awkward silence. Not that she minded too much though, it was something he would understand. She was beyond grateful that, despite it being incredibly sad, it was something they shared. They initially bonded over their lack of inclusion from their family and growing ability to no longer care. Their ties to their families grew weaker as the bond between them grew stronger. She knew it was something she would cherish for as long as she lived.

The guests slowly trickled out, Ines watched as her father said goodbye to Oberon. Gripping him hard, and whispering something in his ear before walking off. She didn't want a goodbye anyways. Slughorn, too drunk to stand, was being held up by some house elves as he waved goodbye to each guest at the door. Ines and Sirius had parted to walk back with Lily and James respectively. Ines, who was a decent amount drunk herself, due to the insane amount of firewhiskey she drank to try and ignore the fact that her father was there, walked arm in arm with Lily. Once in the common room, she led her up the stairs, passing James and Sirius in the common room deep in conversation. Sirius stood at the sight of Ines, who was practically asleep now. "Need any help?" he asked. Lily, quite determined to finish her feat, shook her head "I've got it." They paused, all thinking of why she had drunk so much. She drank to ignore the fact that her father was brought into a place she considered home more than her own. He had tainted the night and she would never forgive him. She whispered a goodnight, went up to the stairs, and helped Ines to bed, quickly packed her trunk for the next day using a spell she had read the other night, and went to bed.


	15. Chapter Thirteen

Every year when Ines would go home for the holidays, she waited for the brief moment in which the train would pass over a specific bridge. It was a place of brilliant sunlight, never undappled. Shafts of lemon-gold brilliance lanced down to the forest floor covered in a white sheet, between bars and pools of brown-green shade; and the light was never still, never constant, because drifting mist would often float among the treetops with the snow, filtering all the sunlight to a pearly sheen and brushing every pine cone with moisture that glistened when the mist lifted. There was a narrow path beside the stream, which led from a village-little more than a cluster of herdsmen dwellings - at the foot of the valley to a half-ruined shrine near the glacier at its head, a place where faded silken flags streamed out in the Perpetual winds from the high mountains, and offerings of barley cakes and dried tea were placed by pious villagers. An odd effect of the light, the ice, and the vapor enveloped the head of the valley in perpetual rainbows.

She basked at the moment for as long as she could, before turning back to face her friends. She was sat with Lily, Emmeline, and Marlene. Dorcas and Mary had stayed behind this year. Mary always stayed behind to avoid her parents yearly Christmas gala, and Dorcas didn't celebrate Christmas and had no issue staying behind to keep Mary company. Emmeline, noticing Ines had snapped out of her trance, turned to face her in excitement. "How long until the wedding?". Ines groaned playfully, "I've been trying not to think of it, but it's in a few days. I suspect the Malfoy Manor is in high gear at the moment preparing.". Lily, excited by the notion of a wizarding wedding. "Is it any different than a muggle one?". Ines turned to answer but spotted over her shoulder Oberon standing in the hall. The girls noticed her hesitation and looked with her, as Ines stood to leave Emmeline decided to answer Lily's question.

Ines slid out the door, trying to draw as little attention as possible to them. Despite her efforts, many people in the halls of the train noticed and stared. "Make it quick" she spat, staring at him menacingly. He was unphased by her manner and returned it to her with ease. "Father told me he won't be getting us from the station, he and mother are on business. Pippy is fetching us.". "When did he tell you that?". He looked up and down the halls, "Last night". Ines rolled her eyes, her head still hurt from all the drinking she did to forget it "Why couldn't he have told me that" she said sarcastically. Oberon paused, not understanding her sarcasm, and not wanting to say what they both knew to be the truth. "I'm kidding, I know why. Goodbye." She took a step backward, slamming the glass sliding door in front of her, and watched him walk away. The rest of the train ride was mostly silent as Ines' interaction with Oberon had put her in a sour mood. Once at the station, Ines gathered her things and walked over to where Pippy stood. Assuming her parents had told her, she stood at the furthest column back. She walked over, spotting Oberon talking to Orion nearby. Walburga turned to her and smiled, a rotten smile. Ines paused, unsure of what this smile meant, Walburga never smiled. "Ines! Beautiful girl! How are you?". Ines warily responded, unsure of her true intentions "Very well Walburga, and yourself?". She nodded, "Very well", muttering. She shot her once last gruesome smile and turned back to Oberon.

Ines greeted Pippy and waited for Oberon to finish. She heard only bits and pieces of their conversation, things about Defense Against the Dark Arts, the Malfoy wedding, and their father's business trip. She only heard as little as she did because she was busy with her goodbyes from the boys. She hugged them all goodbye and they walked off to their respective parents. Sirius sauntered up to her, nodding to his mother, which she clearly didn't approve of due to her disgusted face. "Ines," he said, in his most polite manner, eyes to see if his parents were watching. He shook her hand, and she glared at him impassively, hiding her smile. The two of them had always tried their best to put on their best faces when each other parents were around, or any other pureblood family for that matter. Impressions were everything. Over the years they continued to do it less out of wanting to keep a good impression, and rather as a joke. Ines put on her most polite face and spoke lightly and airy trying to give off a sense of maturity "I'll be seeing you at the wedding won't I?". They let go of each others hands, realizing they had held them for too long. "Of course, I'm looking forward to it, see you then.". He walked into the huddle made up of his mother, father and now Regulus. Oberon was now standing beside Pippy, watching the Blacks but quickly snapped out of it once Ines turned to face them.

"Should we be going now Pippy?" she asked happily. "Of course Master Avery". They pushed their trolleys to the edge of the platform and Pippy apparated them back home. They found themselves at the foot of their driveway, gazing at their home. It was a gracious, tall, residence of two stories, inhabiting its surroundings with comfortable ease. Its classic lines were softened by an abundance of glossy green ivy that mantled the cream stucco façade, and arbors of numerous colored lilacs that arched cheerfully over the courtyard entrance. Two extended wings curved around the front gardens as if the house had decided to fill its arms with bouquets. Nearby, a slope of dark, dreaming forest rested beneath a blanket of sunlight. They walked up the driveway in silence, and without a word Ines head upstairs to the third floor.

She had always loved her bedroom; the vanity with the warped mirror, the squat chairs without armrests, the elaborate dressing screen. At night the purple-fringed lampshades turned the light a hue somewhere between lilac and dusky plum. She had window seats and shutters, lilac flowered wallpaper, and a bed with too many pillows. The one thing she didn't like was the small hallway beside her bathroom that connected her room to Oberons. When they were younger there was a tapestry in the hall, a gift from the Yaxley family when the twins had been born that said: "The right-handed twin tells the truth, the left-handed twin tells lies". It was in poor taste though, because both Ines and Oberon were left-handed. Ines had taken it down in a fit of rage a few years ago, in which Oberon had charmed her door to be stuck open. She was a ball of anger, sending spell after spell at him until he retreated to his room and undid the charm. Her last act was to stare him dead in the eyes and rip the tapestry in two.

She gazed at the hallway, looking at the spot where she had once stood until she noticed Oberon on the other side staring back at her. She turned around, thinking about how the two of them had got made together, cell for cell. They had kept each other company when they didn't have any eyes or hands. Before their souls even got delivered. She reminded herself that while they share the same makeup, there was no way they possessed identical souls, and the thought comforted her. She was brought out of her thoughts by the sight that Oberon's door had closed, so she did the same to hers and went to lay in her bed. She looked up at the canopy, she had charmed last summer to resemble the night sky. Every constellation was unique and intricate, the idea that there was so much out in the world she didn't know gave her the will to pursue on in moments where she felt as though she couldn't.

Her moment of reminiscence was cut short by the sound of two people apparating into their home. She heard Pippy yell from downstairs "Master Avery! Master Avery! Good to see you home!" She heard her father tell her to be quiet and the sound of footsteps walking to the bottom of the spiral staircase. "Oberon!" he yelled, "Come down here!". She listened as Oberon's door opened and he walked down the hall to the stairs. "Oberon!" their mother called, "Good to see you!". "Hello mother," he said gleefully. Once at the bottom of the steps their father said "Come, Oberon, we have much to talk about. Ines listened to their every step until she could no longer hear them.

She had the whole floor to herself now, but all she wanted to do was be in her room. She didn't have much time to read during the school year, and her breaks at home helped remind her how much she loved it. She saw reading as the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another's skin, another's voice, another's soul. She was a decent way through the book when she heard a knock on the door. She immediately called for them to come in, knowing it was Pippy as nobody else would knock or come to see her in the first place. "Dinner is ready Master Avery.". Ines stood and walked for the door, and said her 'thank you'. She bowed and let Ines walk in front of her and down the stairs. Their home was usually quiet, her summers between school sitting idly, alone and unresponsive, made her realize that silence has a sound. This sound was different. The tension released in every echo made from her steps battled it as she made her way down the steps. The cruelest lies are often told in silence was something else she learned in her summers. Oberon would tell their parents about his school year, and his friends, adding fuel to her parent's fiery hatred of her.

Walking through the halls, she heard talking from the end of the one leading to the West Wing. She passed the dining room where the food was already set on the table and tiptoed to where her father's study was. The whispers belonged to Oberon and her father. Ines could picture the events behind the door perfectly. Despite all the times she had been in her father's study was for her to reprimand her for her wrongdoing, she doubted he would give Oberon any more courtesy. Her father was to be standing behind his desk, with Oberon seated on the opposite side on the bench. Her mother was sitting in the back right corner next to the mantlepiece, quiet, like her father, wanted her to be. "Oberon, he can help us, help us all. He has our best interests in mind, no matter how ruthless and destructive it may be to get them" he said. She turned to face the hall in shock at these words, and noticed Pippy, wide-eyed, staring at her. "Master Avery," She whispered, "It's time for dinner". "I know Pippy, just pretend I'm not here.". Pippy, despite being very hesitant to it, obliged and walked to the door and knocked. The voices stopped abruptly, Ines heard her father's final words, something along the lines of "for the greater good". Pippy told them dinner was ready, and after a pause, she heard her father's booming voice. "Alright, we'll be there. Oberon, go now.". Oberon strode out of the room, followed by Pippy. Ines stood behind the door, waiting for the moment in which Oberon would be far enough from the study and the door would be closed.

The moment came quickly as the door was shut immediately after Oberon stepped foot out of it. Ines bounded forwards, grabbing Oberon's shoulders. "What was that about?". Oberon shook her off, looking disgusted "Nothing that concerns you". "Oberon, please! Why can't you tell me?" She said, louder this time. "Ines drop it!" he said fiercely. "Why can't you jus-". Before Ines could finish the sound of the door swinging open interrupted her. "Ines!" her father boomed "It doesn't concern you, leave it alone!". Ines groaned "What is so ruthless and destructive! Why can't I know? wha-". Her father cut her off again "It does not concern you! Maybe it would have if you had kept your toes in line and been sorted right! Not become some reckless Gryffindor brat!". These words hung in the air for only moments, as Ines stormed off and up the stairs again. She pulled her trunk out of the corner of her room, pulling everything out of it, searching for a specific book.

In the next ten minutes, her room turned from the light grays and purples to bold reds and glittering golds. All was different, aside from her canopy, and seemed practically identical to the Gryffindor common room. The chandelier was turned from silver to gold, her bed sheets were a deep red. Her walls were a pale red, and her paintings now had inverted their colors to all shades of red and gold. She stood by her sorting and would defend it until her last days. She heard a knock again, Pippy entered holding a tray of food. She gazed at her newly done room, marveling in all the shining colors, before regaining focus. "Your parents have asked you take dinner in your room.". She took the tray "Thank you Pippy". Pippy bowed and left, giving one last glance at the bedroom that represented who Ines truly was.


	16. Chapter Fourteen

Ines was wearing her best dress, a ball gown made of iridescent shot silk, which appeared silver from one angle, and lavender from another. The front was simple in design, with a smooth, tight-fitting bodice and a low scooped neckline. A web of intricate tucks in the back flowed into a cascade of silk that fluttered and shimmered whenever she moved. She looked down at the wispy dress, her fingers trailing over it. Old sequins were sewn down the side, forming the shapes of lilac flowers. The breeze provided for a quite dramatic effect, as the ceremony was in the Malfoy Manor garden. The two of them stood at the altar, as Cygnus read through the ceremony. Narcissa's dress was stunning. Every bride is beautiful. It's like newborn babies or puppies. They can't help it. A cream-colored skirt, full and soft, twirled around down to her ankles. Golden buttons fastened themselves up the placket on the bodice and over the elegant, tight sleeves. From her elbows, wisps of white flowed to the ground for tippets. A collar around her neck drifted out into a cape of the same material.

Ines could hardly focus on the ceremony, Lucius smiled proudly because he's convinced he's accomplished something quite wonderful. Narcissa smiled because she's been able to convince him of it, with the help of her parent's wonderful negotiation skills. As her father hands her off, she lets go of her singlehood identity, she prepares an internal space where her new identity as a wife will eventually bloom. They were lucky to have found love in their arranged marriage, but events like these only reminded her that she may not be that lucky. She never liked weddings. The marriage ceremony is sexist beyond parody. The bride appears in a fussy white dress that symbolizes her virtue and virginity, and everyone keeps on remarking on how thin and beautiful she looks. Her father walks her down the aisle to 'give her away', and she passes, like property, from one man to another. The minister, who is traditionally a man, gives the man permission to kiss the woman as if that is in the minister's authority and the woman has none. The man kisses, the woman is kissed. At the reception, only men are given to speak, while the bride remains seated and silent. Henceforth, the woman will adopt the man's name, as will their eventual offspring. Despite all this, the wedding day is said to belong to the woman. She definitely wanted to be married one day, but not like this.

She was brought out of her thoughts by the applause, the ceremony was over and the newlyweds walked down the aisle from which they had come and into the house. The guests followed suit, trying not to trample on each other's ball gowns. They entered the ballroom, and Ines gazed around at the excessive sights. The diamonds glinted under the glare of the chandelier and they looked like a thousand spider eyes. She stood stock-still, drinking in the simple beauty of the marble fountain placed in the center, the base of its pedestal wreathed in delicate fronds, that stood, glowing lambently in the soft white light, in the center of a small, secluded, fern-shrouded clearing. Water poured steadily from the pitcher of the partially clad maiden frozen forever in her task of filling the wide, scroll-lipped basin. The entire room was draped in silks and lights. The floor was separated, one side to dance and the other with tables to eat. Ines was being kept on a tight leash, not stray far from her father, so he could keep a watchful eye on her. Oberon was free to roam as he pleased, and Ines expected he would find his way to Regulus at some point. This was made easy as when Ines approached their table, she found that her place card was seated next to Regulus and across from Sirius. They all reached the table gradually, Her father switched Oberon's place card so he would be seated next to her. Oberon was unhappy with this but didn't say anything, Ines could just tell.

Sirius sat across from her, in his best dress robes, she could see him through the vase of lilacs of all different colors in the center of the table. He wore a tailor's masterpiece of obsidian fabric so expensive that it would've been personally offended to have been referred to as a 'black suit'. It was a really nice black suit. He wasn't like those handsome men you see on the fashion magazines. Like a man who knows that he has starry eyes that can bring stars closer but doesn't even bother to look. The cynicism in those eyes was a fascinating contrast to the touch of humor that lurked at the corners of his wide mouth. It wouldn't have mattered if she was staring, as he was staring right back. They were both brought out of their thoughts by speeches. They lasted for quite a while, they spoke of the sanctity of marriage, the wonderful bond Lucius and Narcissa shared, and their hopes for the future. It was nice on the surface, but below all that is was quite depressing and insincere. When the speeches ended, they all applauded, which led to the first dance. Slowly, people started filtering onto the dance floor. It wasn't until the majority of the people had left that their table had found it acceptable to disassociate from the festivities.

Agnes looked to Walburga as if they had some sort of unspoken agreement, before launching into an obviously rehearsed conversation. "This wedding is just wonderful isn't it Agnes.". Her voice gave it away immediately, she was up to something. "Of course, I'm excited for the day when we can once again attend one like this.". Sirius was now interested in the conversation, looking to Ines to see if she had any clue what was going on but her expression clearly alluded that she didn't. "Well, maybe the chances of that aren't too slim.". Her sly smile caused a wave of nervousness flow through the whole table. Regulus was now paying attention, meaning Oberon was too as he would now notice if he stared. Victor had had enough of the dawdling and groaned at the women's' immaturity regarding the situation. "They aren't. Regulus, you are well acquainted with Ines are you not?".

Not even the sharpest blade could slice through the tension that now filled the room. There was not a single thought in Ines' mind, all she could do was stare blankly ahead at Sirius. She could feel Regulus eyes on her, but she couldn't bear to look, because knowing if she did, the truth would fully set in. She hated it, it was against all scientific reason for two people who hardly knew each other, with barely any ties at all between them, with different characters, different morals, with minimal acquaintance, to suddenly find themselves committed to living together, to sleeping in the same bed, to sharing two destinies that perhaps were fated to go in opposite directions. Married, under false pretense, under an agreement.

She looked into Sirius' eyes, the stars in them mingling with fear and anger. She turned to Regulus, who was no longer looking at her, rather Victor. "Yes, I am.". "Wonderful" Victor said as if he had just closed a deal, "Ines, we have known that this will be a perfect time when we can find someone for you. We had been getting proposals for the last couple of years, but as you were studying we let you be. So we never said anything to you. But now you are on your way to a stable job and doing good, so this was a perfect time that we start looking for a suitable option. We can't think of a better man than Regulus.". He slapped his hand on the back of Regulus' shoulder, trying to imitate some sort of fatherly affection. Regulus tried with all his might to give a smile, but he couldn't do anything as Oberon's eyes were boring into his. Agnes, Walburga, Victor, and Orion all stood in unison, as they deemed the job to be done. Leaving Ines, Oberon, Sirius, and Regulus seated at the table, none of them able to speak.

Hot tears fought for a room in Ines' eyes but she would not let them out. Better to stand resolute and proud in the face of terror, she thought, but it was impossible. She couldn't look Regulus in the eyes, he couldn't marry him. He couldn't look at Oberon, because she would be ripping the one thing from him that he truly loved, as much as he tried to hide it. She couldn't look at Sirius, as she just might die. His eyes were something that could never belong to her. She stood up quickly, her chair almost toppling over behind her and strutted towards the door. Tears stood in her eyes, afraid to let them fall. She broke into a run, only slowing down when she found herself at the end of a hallway, a window to the garden filling the whole wall.

Before she could even breathe she saw Sirius running down towards her. She crumbled in his arms, her tears flowing freely now. She couldn't talk, she couldn't possibly articulate words at this moment. "Ines," he whispered, "It's going to be ok.". She ripped herself from him "No it won't! It will never be! My parents have married me off, to your brother of all people, I'll never be happy, I'll never be able to make my own choices, We'll never be able to.". She couldn't say it, she couldn't face him. She looked out the window, all the thoughts rushing through her head. She watched the lilacs of all different colors sway in the wind, they were so close she could practically smell them. She tried her hardest to, anything to ignore what was behind her. She couldn't possibly look him in the eyes and say it, her heart just may stop beating.

He moved toward her, and put his hand on her shoulder, turning her to face him. He could feel the tension in his own body, the effort of holding back, of not pulling her against him and taking this one chance, however dangerous and stupid and unwise, and kissing her the way he had thought he would never, in his life, be able to kiss her again. Her eyes overtook him, and he cupped her face in his hands and he kissed her so deeply that she didn't know who was breathing for who. His mouth came down on hers. And that was it. All the self-control he'd exerted over the past weeks went, like water crashing through a broken dam. Her arms came up around his neck and he pulled her against him. His hands flattened against her back and she was up on the tips of her toes, kissing him as fiercely as he was kissing her. She clung to him more tightly, knotting her hands in his hair, trying to tell him, with the press of her mouth on his, all the things she could never say out loud. It wasn't the sort of kiss she'd had with anyone before, it was the kind of kiss that inspires stars to climb into the sky and light up the world. They parted, and she stared into his eyes, they looked like the constellations on her tapestry. She could look into them for years.


	17. Chapter Fifteen

Then, as soon as it had begun, their shared moment was over, and it was now tainted. Her father stood at the end of the hall, flanked by Walburga. His eyes bored into hers, and then into Sirius. He strutted down the hall, as Ines and Sirius still clung to each other. He ripped Ines from him, ripping the sleeves of her dress in the process due to the sheer force of his grip. "You insolent whore! How could you! The effort that was put into arranging this engagement and this is how you thank me?". Behind her, she could hear the sound of a slap, and Walburga seething. The only thing holding her together being the moment she just shared with Sirius. "I don't want it! I don't want to marry Regulus! I want to marry who I please, not under your idiotic jurisdiction!". These words earned her a slap to the face as well. He gripped her arm again, his fingernails boring scars into her, and dragged her down the hall in which he had come. She could hear Sirius struggle behind her "Stop! Leave me alone!" he yelled.

They passed the open door to the ballroom, many people were staring, they had heard the whole thing. She saw her mother, seated behind Oberon, in her usual state, quiet and obedient. She was gripping Regulus, probably in an effort to convince him that Ines would still be a worthy wife. Narcissa and Lucius looked at them, they had ruined their moment in the spotlight. Ines made eye contact with Oberon, his face was as impassive as ever, and it angered Ines. She wanted him to do something, anything, give her a pitying look, something to communicate that it would be ok and he didn't hate her. But it never came, and she continued to be dragged from the Manor. Sirius was writhing in his mother's grip, calling her horrid names, all of which she shot back at him. They made it to the entrance and they were dragged outside the doors. "Don't expect to ever come home again!" Victor yelled, and Walburga nodded. Their parents didn't say a single word more to them and simply shut the door. They were a sight to be seen. Sirius' dress robes were mangled and his hair was a mess. Ines' dress was torn in its sleeves, and her lipstick was smudged, not easily noticed due to the tear tracks on her cheeks. They stood close, catching their breath, unable to comprehend the life-changing events that had just taken place in less than five minutes.

Ines could only stare at the lilacs flowing into the front of the house from the back garden, which she had been just looking at through the window. Sirius snapped her out of her trance, placing his hand on her shoulder, he was crying too now. Ines stared at him and laughed. He smiled a bit and chuckled with her. They were free and were weirdly relieved about it. She placed her hand, still shaking, into his and they walked down the steps to the end of the driveway. But, at the end of the driveway, they halted. They had their wands on them, but what use were they under the statue of secrecy, Ines held hers out, wondering what they could possibly do. Before one of them could say a word, a gigantic pair of wheels and headlights screeched to a halt exactly in front of them. They belonged to a triple-decker, violently purple bus, which had appeared out of thin air. Gold lettering over the windshield spelled The Knight Bus. Ines had heard of it a few times but didn't expect it to appear like this, regardless of it not being on command. Then a conductor in a purple uniform leaped out of the bus and began to speak loudly.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Kenneth Towler, and I will be your conductor this eve —" The conductor stopped abruptly. He had just caught sight of the two of them, clad in their best clothes. "What is it you two are all gussied up for? Getting married?". "No," Ines stated, "we were at a wedding.". He took a moment, thinking, before coming to a realization and looking at them in a whole new light. "The Malfoy wedding wasn't it? Aye, i've heard much about it.". "So — so this bus," he went on quickly, hoping to avoid the subject of the wedding, "did you say it goes anywhere?". "Yep," said Kenneth proudly, "anywhere you like, long's it's on land. Can't do nuffink underwater. 'Ere," he said, looking suspicious, again, "you did flag us down, dincha? Stuck out your wand 'and, dincha?" "Yes," said Ines quickly. "Listen, how much would it be to get to Cheshire?". Sirius turned to her, Ines mouthed 'James' shrugging. He nodded, they both knew he would be the best person to look to for help in this situation. "Eleven Sickles," said Kenneth, "but for firteen you get 'ot chocolate, and for fifteen you get an 'ot water bottle an' a toofbrush in the color of your choice.". Sirius rummaged in his left pocket, extracted his money bag, and shoved some gold into Kenneth's hand, and they both stepped up into the bus.

There were no seats; instead, half a dozen brass bedsteads stood beside the curtained windows. Candles were burning in brackets beside each bed, illuminating the wood-paneled walls. A tiny wizard in a nightcap at the rear of the bus muttered, "Not now, thanks, I'm pickling some slugs" and rolled over in his sleep. "You two 'ave this one," Stan whispered, pointing to a bed right behind the driver, who was sitting in an armchair in front of the steering wheel. "This is our driver, Ernie Prang. These is erm, wot did you say your names were again?". They struggled to get their words out as the bus peeled out of the driveway, and sped through the country roads. "Sirius Black and Ines Avery" Sirius managed. He narrowed his eyes, "Black and Avery huh". He looked at Ernie, the young driver, who reciprocated the same look. Ines had seen this look before. Their names were well known, as well as the prejudices they stereotypically held. The bus continued to speed through streets, they passed through cities, suburbs, and rural areas. One by one, wizards and witches in dressing gowns and slippers descended from the upper floors to leave the bus. They all looked very pleased to go.

"Right then kids," said Kenneth, clapping his hands, "whereabouts in Cheshire?". "Brereton Park," said Sirius. "Righto," said Kenneth. " 'Old tight, then . . ." They were thundering along Charing Cross Road. Ines sat up and watched buildings and benches squeezing themselves out of the Knight Bus' way. The sky was getting a darker, and it had begun to rain. Ern slammed on the brakes and the Knight Bus skidded to a halt in front of a tall pearly gate, surrounding the border of Brereton Park. It was a fairly affluent area, housing mostly magical families. Ines gathered up her dress and made her way through the bus and out the door with Sirius trailing behind her. The second they stepped on the ground, the bus zoomed off. The rain was pouring now, the two of them ran as fast as they could in their fancy clothes through the gate and up the street. Luckily, James lived in one of the first few homes, and there was no need to be running through the countryside for at least an hour. They made their way up the drive, his house slowly coming into greater view. Looking up and up and still farther up at the great tomb yard top of the old house. For that's what it seemed. The high mountain peak of the mansion was littered with what looked like black bones or iron rods, and enough chimneys to choke out smoke signals from three dozen fires on sooty hearths hidden far below in dim bowels of this monster place. With so many chimneys, the roof seemed a vast cemetery, each chimney signifying the burial place of some old god of fire or enchantress of steam, smoke, and firefly spark. even as they watched, a kind of bleak exhalation of soot breathed up out of some four dozen flues, darkening the sky still more, and putting out some few stars. Years of inheritance had built this house. James' parents had him much later in life, and considered him the greatest gift in life, and gave him everything he could possibly want. Ines had always admired them, so willing to go the extra mile for their son.

They made it to the door and Sirius used the lion-shaped door knocker to notify the house of their presence. Ines shivered in the rain, and Sirius held tightly onto her. The door opened and James slid into view, thanking his house-elf and then looking up at the two of them. He was severely caught off guard. He wore an oversized Chudley Cannons tee-shirt and his boxers. He nearly dropped his toothbrush at the sight of them, before yelling "Come inside! Let's go!". They walked in gladly, wiping their shoes on the rug. "James dear who is it!" they heard, Euphemia call before she and Fleamont rounded the corner. They caught sight of them and immediately grabbed the blankets from the nearby couch and wrapped them around them. They then ushered them over to the couch closest to the roaring fire. "What's happened?" James asked, "Aren't you mean to be at the Malfoy wedding?". Sirius nodded "We were, our parents took the occasion to kick us out, I don't think we'll about allowed home any time soon". James handed them both some warm tea that his father had gotten "Well why? What's the reason?". They were silent. Ines couldn't look at Sirius, she just might give it away. The Potter's seemed to understand that this wasn't something they wished to speak of and left it alone.

James turned to them "They'll stay with us won't they?". Ines bowed her head, near tears again. It had been a whirlwind of a night, she had been exiled from one family and were welcomed into another. "Of course they will, we have plenty of room. They can have the guest rooms.". Sirius had tears in his eyes "Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Potter, we can't say it enough.". Euphemia stood, "Please, call us mom and dad.". They were led to the respective guest rooms. Ines had been down this hall before, they passed James' room and the next door down was to belong to Sirius and the one across the hall was to be Ines'. Her new room was mostly cream colored, she had a large bay window adjacent from her bed. She turned to Euphemia who was gazing at her from behind. Fleamont was across the hall, helping Sirius set in. "I can't thank you enough, really.". She smiled, glancing around the room and then at her. "I've always wanted a daughter, and despite the circumstances, I'm glad it's you that's here.". Ines basked in her words, she had always been Agnes' child, but she's never been her daughter, never been anyone's daughter. She strode over to her and hugged her, shocking her for a bit. She was aware that Euphemia was old and frail, but she couldn't think of it at the moment. They pulled away and Euphemia wiped away a small tear. "You can stay as long as you please, lets dry you off and get you settled. I'm sure James' will loan you something to wear until we can get you some clothes.". Ines nodded and thanked her again.

She showed her to the bathroom, and quickly flitted into James' room and came back with a shirt and shorts. The shirt was red with a Gryffindor emblem, and the shorts were gray and drab, nothing compared to the ball gown she currently wore, but it had its comforts. She showered, changed, and took a moment to breathe. So much had happened, she was unsure if it was real life or just a dream. She thought about her family, or the lack thereof, and how they handled her leave? she bet it was easy. She thought of Regulus, how did he feel about the whole ordeal? had he spoken of it to Oberon? how did he feel? She thought of Sirius. he was fast becoming the excitement of a tomorrow she never used to look forward to. It scared her, but she let it be. In time, she thought that the hurt would fade and it would be easier to just let it go. She found that in every boy she had been within the past few years, she found Herself looking for him but she felt that he had gone on with his life, and didn't want to think about loving her. It felt good to know she was wrong. She wanted to remember how it felt to be with him for the brief moments at the wedding, as much as it scared her.

She walked across the hall but halted before opening the door. Listening in on conversations had gotten her in trouble before, but she couldn't help herself. "I really care about her, and I know that that kiss may have ruined a lot, for the both of us, but I can't bring myself to regret it.". All at once it was just too much, and Ines felt something about to snap. She drew back into the shadowy side of the doorway, out of site. Then she slid down the wall to the ground and put her palm over her mouth to hold in her breath and her feelings both. Her feelings towards him contradicted everything she had felt before.

There are many different types of kisses. There's a passionate kiss of farewell, like the kind Dmitri gave her at the end of the summer they had spent together before he moved closer to his school, Durmstrang. The kiss that's trying to say "I can't really be with you but I want to be" like William gave her the year before, claiming him and Camille were on a break. There's the first kiss, one that is gentle and hesitant, warm and vulnerable. But all of those peoples' kisses meant nothing because there was the kiss of possession, which was how Sirius had kissed her. It went beyond passion, beyond desire. His kiss was full of longing, need, and love, like all those other kisses. But, it was also filled with promises and pledges, some of which seemed sweet and tender while others seemed dangerous and exciting. He was taking me over, staking a claim. She welcomed it.


	18. Chapter Sixteen

Christmas came faster than any of them realized it would. With Ines and Sirius arriving a mere two days beforehand, there wasn't much time for the usual festivities. But the Potters welcomes the chaos and worked with it. Ines had to be woken up Christmas morning, as she never had to before. Christmas wasn't a family event for her, it was a business experience. A time to meet with people under the false pretenses of a celebration, people her parents deemed worthy of coming to celebrate with them. She received gifts, but the sentimental meaning and worth behind them steadily decreased once she had been sorted into Gryffindor. James had woken her up, first with soft knocking, and when that didn't work a jump on the bed. "Happy Christmas Ines!" he yelled, "Happy happy Christmas!". Despite being woken up with such a start, she was glad that at least it was by someone she loved. She scrambled up "I'm up, I'm up!". He grabbed her hand and whisked her from the room. She passed Sirius briefly, he was leaning in the doorway to his room, most likely laughing at James' childlike behavior.

Christmas at the Potters felt as if a spell was cast over the world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. The tree was decorated to the brim with lights and beads, looking less like a tree and more like a children's art project, but the Potters loved it. Ines, James, and Sirius sat around the tree and Ines was shocked to find gifts with her name on it. She turned behind her, to Euphemia, who seemed to understand her expression and nodded as a bright smile crept onto her face. She had gotten practically a whole wardrobe of clothes, Euphemia citing the reason to be that she couldn't wear James' clothes forever. She received a Holyhead Harpies banner from James as well as a package of sugar quills which she dove into immediately. She felt terrible, she hadn't gotten anyone anything, she didn't even expect them to hold Christmas at all.

Once the festivities died down, Fleamont announced that breakfast would be ready in a bit. They all stood to go to the dining room, but a hand around Ines' wrist stopped her. It was Sirius, he pulled something from one of his pockets, a flat rectangular leather case. "For you," he said, giving it to her. Her eyes rounded with surprise. "You didn't need to give me anything. Thank you. I didn't expect.. oh." This last as she opened the case and beheld a necklace arranged on a silver chain. The charm was a garland of sparkling flowers, lilacs, her favorite. "Do you like it?" Sirius asked casually. "Yes, of course, it's... breathtaking." Ines had never imagined owning such jewelry. She had plenty in her room, all very expensive and excessive, but none with this much meaning and goodwill in giving it to her. He took the necklace out of the box and carefully fastened it around her neck. Just like he'd imagined himself doing when he bought it. That might even be why he bought it - so he'd have this moment, under her hair. He ran his fingertips along the chain and settled the pendant on her throat. "When did you have the chance to buy this?". His eyes flitted downwards as if embarrassed by his answer. "I got it at Gladrags Wizardwear when I went to Hogsmeade with Cynthia.". Her eyes met his, now looking at her. The glance transmitted an unspoken message, yet one that confused Ines. He had bought something for her, had been thinking of her, on a date with another girl. Yet, he had kissed Cynthia all the same at the end of it. She didn't want to ask how, but James was her saving grace and called them into the room. Seated at the table, Ines received a glance from Euphemia, and Sirius a similar one from James, but they left it alone.

She wore the necklace all the time, over the course of the next five days it had become a part of her. Euphemia had never asked about it, but it didn't matter as she seemed to have already come to an understanding on her own. Getting ready for Benjy Fenwick's new years party, she kept it on. She felt as though it complemented her outfit. She was wearing all black, but expensive black. The kind of deep, soft black that causes someone to fall into it. A simple sleeveless dress, the highest of heels, a pair of stunning uncut amethyst earrings, and Sirius necklace. She exited her room to find James and Sirius talking in the hallway, but their conversation ceased at the sight of her. They hadn't gone to many parties like this together. The majority of parties were after Quidditch wins so they were all in their uniforms. Ines watched Sirius' eyes as they traveled up and down her body, before landing on her necklace. He smiled like he did every time he saw her wearing it. "Should we get going?" James whispered, and they nodded.

It was very possible that Euphemia and Fleamont knew they weren't spending New Year's Eve locked up in their individual rooms, but at this point, they had come to accept the fact that they were going to get into some sort of trouble. Benjy's house wasn't too far from James' but a walk in near darkness didn't make it easy. He lived in a much more secluded area of Brereton Park. While many families had their homes visible from the street, his was tucked back behind a windy drive and a forest of trees. The closer they came to his house, the louder the music and shouting became.

His home was a colossal affair by any standard, it was a factual imitation of some Hôtel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, brand new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden. In his blue garden men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars. Inside they were greeted by a large room full of people. One of the girls in yellow was playing the piano and beside her stood a tall, dark-haired young lady engaged in song. She had drunk a quantity of champagne and during the course of her song turned to slurring rather than singing. She saw plenty of her classmates, many from her year and a few from above and below.

Ines would usually thrive in this environment, a party like this usually had her dancing on top of a table, or in a bedroom with a boy whose name she couldn't remember, but it was different this time. But this new feeling melted away when she saw her friends. She sprinted through the crowd towards them. Lily was holding a drink, a rare occurrence, talking to Emmeline. Behind them, Marlene was talking to Benjy. Ines had only seen him a few times before, he was a Hufflepuff in the year above us. She flung her arms around them, and they nearly toppled over with her force.

Once realizing it was her they hugged her back, just as excited to see her as she was them. She separated and looked at them all individually. They were a family that welcomed her no matter what, no matter her blood status, family, or who she kissed. She felt tears in her eyes but pushed them away. Lily seemed to notice but kept quiet. She smiled, "Now, where are the drinks?". Emmeline led her to a table in the kitchen, stacked to the brim with every possible alcoholic drink, both wizard and muggle. She poured herself a cup of Firewhiskey and downed it in a second. The burning feeling as the liquid traveled down her throat was soothing, she knew if she felt it enough she could forget about the week she'd been having. Which is exactly what she did.

Six firewhiskeys, three shots of some muggle alcohol, and two hours of dancing later she had almost forgotten everything completely. Alcohol freed her, as bad as it was. She welcomed the poison, and let it consume her. She didn't have a care in the world, that is until she saw Cynthia. She was holding two cups in her hands and was searching around. When she spotted Ines she squeezed her way through a dancing couple to her. "Hi, Ines! Nice to see you! Have you by any chance seen Sirius?". Ines looked at her with distaste and continued to dance. "Haven't seen him." She said sharply, turning away. Cynthia grabbed her shoulder and Ines tore it from her. Cynthia was confused by this, yet angered all the same and stalked off. She turned back to her dancing friends, all looking at her, puzzled. "What did she want?" Dorcas yelled over the music. "I haven't the slightest," Ines said, surprisingly articulated considering the mass amounts of alcohol she had consumed.

They danced for another thirty minutes before Ines needed a break. The alcohol was getting to her now, she was feeling sick. She pulled Lily in and spoke into her ear "I'll be right back, I need some air.". "But it's only five minutes to midnight!" she called, but Ines ignored her and kept walking. She made her way up the stairs and past many bedrooms. She had been in one of them last year with Montague Knightley, and another one down the hall with Quentin Trimble the year before that. Now they were filled with different people, and she was glad she wasn't one of them. There was a small balcony, stretching over the roof of the house.

It wasn't a good idea, but she climbed over the railing onto the roof and walked towards the slope of the roof and laid down on it. The stars glittered in the sky and as the number of people at the party grew and laughter and bodies moved in outlines around the kegs of beer in a curtsy of youth. She loved it. Even as a child, she had preferred night to day, had enjoyed sitting out in the yard after sunset, under the star-speckled sky listening to frogs and crickets. Darkness soothed. It softened the sharp edges of the world, toned down the too-harsh colors. With the coming of twilight, the sky seemed to recede; the universe expanded. The night was bigger than the day, and in its realm, life seemed to have more possibilities

She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of feet hitting the roof tiles, and she looked up to find Sirius walking towards her. He was obviously quite drunk himself, made evident by the lack of balance in his steps. She smiled, and held out her hand, helping him from his unstable steps bringing him next to her. "Cynthia's looking for you" She muttered. He scoffed "I know, it's why I'm out here Ines.". She turned to face him now, their faces were inches from each other. "I like the way you say my name, I wish I had a better one.". "Why do you say that?".

"My parents gave me and Oberon our names with the intent of them having an alternate meaning, one that they decided. My entire existence is branded by my name. Ines means Chaste, kind, innocent, gentle, and ... pure.". He listened intently, and Ines appreciated it. "Oberon's is pretty much the same, it means 'the purest blood out of the heart', noble, and pure. But he doesn't care, he embraces it. I hate it, he just gave in and embodied his name, he basks in his purity. Just as my parents wanted us to. As different as I am to them, I can't escape my name.". There was a beat of silence before Sirius broke it. "Well, maybe that's the good part of it. You're practically stomping on the person they want you to be, the Ines they want you to be. Taking the name that they branded with you, and making it your own, defying their expectations.". She slid her head onto his chest, the both of them still looking up at the stars. "I wish I could be named after a star, like you, they're so wonderful. The stars we are given. The constellations we make. That is to say, stars exist in the cosmos, but constellations are the imaginary lines we draw between them, the readings we give the sky, the stories we tell.". Her head was pressed against his chest and she could hear the erratic beat of his heart, its pulse matching her own. She felt it too, the exhilaration, and underneath it the thin electrifying undercurrent of fear, at the feeling of forbidden-ness of what they were doing.

They heard the calls from down below and inside, the countdown had started. Ines sat up, followed closely behind by Sirius.

5.

"Happy new year Sirius".

4.

"Happy new year Ines".

3.

She looked up into his eyes, seeing the reflection of the constellations above her in his eyes and she felt as though she could drown in them.

2.

He reached out and held her, it seemed as though he was holding onto her because it was the only way to stop them from being swept away into the night.

1.

Then she was kissing him as she had never kissed him before and it was blissful oblivion, better than firewhiskey; like he was the only real thing in the world.


	19. Chapter Seventeen

When the students had returned from holiday they found a sign posted in the common room, reading 'All fifth years will be required to attend a short meeting with their Head of House during the first week back from holiday, in which they will be given the opportunity to discuss their future careers. Times of individual appointments are listed below.'. Ines looked down the list to find that she was expected in Professor McGonagall's office at half-past two on Monday, which would mean missing most of potions class, not that she minded. She wasn't sure if she could face Oberon. Coming back to the castle was difficult, news had spread that both Ines and Sirius had been kicked from their families, despite nobody knowing why. She suspected Oberon knew, her parents were probably yelling about it for hours. While she was saddened by thinking of what he had to endure over the holiday, she knew that he probably relished in it. She had avoided practically everyone since she had come back, most of all Sirius.

The classes they usually sat together in were quiet and instead if their loud jokes and wild attitudes disrupting the class, they were beside themselves due to their lack of activity. Rumors had gone around about what had happened. A few other Slytherin purebloods had been at the wedding as well and had come to their own conclusions about what had happened. None of them were correct, but neither Ines or Sirius bothered to correct them. Dorcas told her that someone had asked if it was true that she had tried to steal from the Malfoy Manor. Emmeline was asked if Ines had been caught trying to charm the cake to fly into the ballroom with the intent of dropping it over the newlyweds. Marlene was asked by a Ravenclaw 7th year something that was quite frightening, asking if Sirius had gotten her pregnant. Something she shut down with ease, no help to Marlene's persistence.

While others were searching through books and pamphlets for some clue as to what they wanted to do after Hogwarts, Ines was already decided, so she was able to stride into McGonagall's office with full confidence. "Sit down, Avery," said Professor McGonagall tersely. Her hands shook slightly as she shuffled the many pamphlets littering her desk. She looked up at her, and Ines couldn't quite read her expression. She struggled to articulate her sentence before asking "Miss Avery ... How are you?". Ines' face fell, she knew what this was about. "I'm doing fine, thanks" she answered, curtly, hoping to avoid the subject. "Well, Avery, this meeting is to talk over any career ideas you might have, and to help you decide which subjects you should continue into sixth and seventh years," said Professor McGonagall. "Have you had any thoughts about what you would like to do after you leave Hogwarts?".

Ines straightened up proudly, "I'd quite like to be an Auror". She was able to notice a small smile McGonagall spoke, extracting a small, dark leaflet from under the mass on her desk and opening it "You'd need top grades for that, the ministry asks for a minimum of five N.E.W.T.s, and nothing under 'Exceeds Expectations' grade. Then you would be required to undergo a stringent series of character and aptitude tests at the Auror office. It's a difficult career path, Miss Avery; they only take the best. In fact, I don't think anybody has been taken on in the last three years, not since the Prewett twins.". Ines blushed, "I know." she muttered. McGonagall seemed to understand and had probably assumed that the Prewett twins were behind this. "You'll want to know which subjects you ought to take, I suppose?" she went on, talking a little more loudly than before. "Yes," said Ines. "Defense Against the Dark Arts, I suppose?" "Naturally," said Professor McGonagall crisply. "I would also advise Transfiguration because Aurors frequently need to Transfigure or Untransfigure in their work. And I ought to tell you now, Miss Avery, that I do not accept students into my N.E.W.T. classes unless they have achieved 'Exceeds Expectations' or higher at Ordinary Wizarding Level. Then you ought to do Charms, always useful, and Potions. Poisons and antidotes are essential studies for Aurors.". Ines nodded, "I think I can manage that.".

McGonagall continued, hiding a brief nod. "Then you ought to do Charms, always useful, and Potions. Poisons and antidotes are essential studies for Aurors. But from what I've heard from Professor Slughorn, you are quite exceptional in that area, you and Oberon.". She seemed to realize her mistake the second the name left her lips. Ines bowed her head. She had avoided thinking about Oberon for so long and hadn't cried even longer than that. Suddenly, a hand had slipped into hers. McGonagall, with tears in her eyes, squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry, Ines. I can't even imagine.". Ines looked up at her, tears now filling her eyes as well. She struggled to get out even a single word. She just heaved and cried. At some point, McGonagall came around the desk and held her. Letting her grieve for the life that she lost. Ines woke early on Saturday morning and lay for a while thinking about the coming Quidditch match. She had never wanted to beat Slytherin so badly. After half an hour of lying there with her insides churning, she got up, dressed, and went down to breakfast early, where she found the rest of the Gryffindor team huddled at the long, empty table, all looking uptight and not speaking much. They greeted her as she approached, and Gavin pushed a plate of food in front of her. "Eat up! We have a match to win.". She smiled and thanked him, ignoring Sirius' eleven o'clock approached, the whole school started to make its way down to the Quidditch stadium. It was a muggy sort of day with a hint of thunder in the air. Lily and Emmeline came hurrying over to wish Ines good luck as she entered the locker rooms. The team pulled on their scarlet Gryffindor robes, then sat down to listen to Gavin's pre-match pep talk. He had gotten increasingly good at them, gaining much more confidence.

"We've come too far and had too strong a run to be afraid of what some measly Slytherins can do to us," he began. "They're good, no point denying it. But we've got better people on our brooms. We've trained harder than they have, we've been flying in all weathers and we're going to make them rue the dared to step out onto this pitch." Chest heaving with emotion, he slapped them all on the backs in an encouraging manner to get the team out the locker room door. As they walked out onto the field, a roar of noise greeted them; mainly cheers, because Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were anxious to see Slytherin beaten, but the Slytherins in the crowd made their boos and hisses heard, too. Madam Hooch asked the captains to shake hands, which they did, giving each other threatening stares and gripping rather harder than was necessary. With a roar from the crowd to speed them upward, the fourteen players rose toward the leaden sky.

Green and red flitted across the field in a blur of motion. Ines went into complete autopilot, trying to play with no emotion. She couldn't help but find Regulus' eyes at every turn. With every crack of the bat and every goal scored she was brought back to the wedding. The feeling of his stare boring into her when her father had asked if the two of them were acquainted. The way her mother gripped him as she was taken from the Malfoy Manor. Sirius' yelling her name brought her from her thoughts, he was rounding on a bludger. She flew over to him, and he pointed upwards to a small player. "Let's try that Dopplebeater Defence move!" He yelled, over the cheers of the crown. It was something he had come up with before holiday break in which both Beaters strike a Bludger at the same time, to double the force behind a swing. The small player was moving, falling into a dive. They both reared their bats backward, aiming for him. In this moment of concentration, Ines realized who it was. Regulus. She swung early and knocked it towards the goalposts.

The commentator, Pierson Ronan, was blaring into the microphone per usual. "It's a wonderful day for house rivalry! Even more so with the added tension, thanks to our wonderful Gryffindor beaters!". Ines could hear a scuffle but tried to ignore it with all her might. She could hear McGonagall struggling and muttering in an attempt to take the microphone from him, but he persisted. "Ines! Sirius! Is it true that you've gotten kicked from your family?"

Ines had had enough, she soared towards the nearest Bludger, putting herself in harm's way just to get the perfect shot. She knocked it towards the tower, heading straight for Pearson. It was called off by Dumbledore to her dislike, but even more so when the whistle was blown. "Avery!" Madame Hooch called, "Off the field this instant!.". She could hear the blood pumping as she flew to the ground, hopping off her broom feet from the bottom. She stormed off, cracking her beaters bat over her knee before flinging it up towards the jeering Slytherins. Her broom under her arm she stalked her way all the way up to the castle and into her dorm, and let the tears fall yet again.


	20. Chapter Eighteen

Between the dark, heavily laden treetops of the spreading chestnut trees could be seen the dark blue of the sky, full of stars, all solemn and golden, which extended their radiance unconcernedly into the distance. That was the nature of the stars. and the trees bore their buds and blossoms and scars for everyone to see, and whether it signified pleasure or pain, they accepted the strong will to live. Then the wind comes so swiftly and dashing that it takes the dead autumn leaves with it, and they rise into the juggling air, while the trees bleat and blubber. Then drops fall, big as the thumb the earth itself seems to heave up and cheep in the monsoon rains. It churns and splashes, beats against the treetops, reckless and willful, and suddenly floating forwards, it bucks back and spits forward and pours down upon the green, weak coffee leaves, thumping them down to the earth.

Ines watched with her eyes glazed over. She had been having troubling sleeping for the past month, and often found herself up in the astronomy tower. It was a miracle she hadn't been caught yet, she had to evade some of the Astronomy classes at times but it wasn't anything to stress over. She brought with her charms essay, something she could finish easily. She was quite good at charms, and according to Slughorn, at potions as well. Potions class had become absolutely torturous, Oberon refused to sit anywhere near her. Despite being partners, he found a way to ignore her existence completely. They had worked in silence before this, yet in unison, working with some sort of unspoken bond. Now, they practically made their own individual potions.

She was brought out of her focus by the sound of a door shutting, someone was coming. She grabbed all her stuff and stepped onto the railing of the balcony to climb up onto the ledge of the roof. She had done it a few times before and wasn't as scared as she was the first time. Heights were never an issue for her, being on the Quidditch team and all. But somewhere far inside of her was the fear - the stark, utter, silently screaming terror - that if she got too close to the edge, then something would take over and she would find herself walking to the edge of a clifftop and stepping off into space. It was as if she could not entirely trust herself, and that scared Ines more than the simple fear of falling ever could.

The footsteps were growing louder, this was not the sound of a class of astronomy students. Someone was running up the steps. She scurried to the edge and tried to push herself up onto the roof when she was grabbed around the middle. She toppled to the ground and was met with Sirius' face. "What were you doing!", he said, looking bewildered and breathing heavily. She must have been shaking because he put his arms around her so tightly it hurt. She loved the pain of his attention. It was the pain of safety, of care. "Nothing!" she mumbled, "I thought you were a professor, or a class or something I was trying to hide.". He let go of her, realizing his hands were still gripping her waist. "On the roof?" he asked, chuckling. She laughed grimly and detached herself from him to go to the railing and lean on it. "It was a good idea at the moment" She muttered, trying to cease her thin smile.

Sirius joined her leaning against the railing, and they both stared out at the Forbidden Forest, Hagrid's hut, and the stars above them, then at the walls, then at the floor, then at our feet, afraid to look at each other. He rested a hand on her hip, and her whole body tensed up. That hand moved around her hip, slipping under her shirt to rest on the small of her back. Ines' skin burned where he touched her, and the places that were untouched longed for that heat. Tension, in the long run, is a more dangerous force than any feud known to man, and Ines knew it. She grabbed his hand and untangled it from her, turning to face him. "I can't do this," she whispered, "I can't stand you being like this.". She turned from him. "Like what? It's not like ... not like you've rejected it all the times before.". Neither of them could talk about it, say what they feel and what they've done. "I can't deal with it, on top of everything ... everything that's going on. I-" The tears were starting to fall, and Sirius reached out for her again but she pulled away. "My family is in ruins and everyone knows it. I don't know how you're dealing with all of this because I can't. It's just. I'm expected to marry your brother and then my brother ... won't even look at me. I hate him I really do but I can't help but want to help him, be with him. I feel delusional but I feel like he could still change. That somewhere my brother is in there, we're made identical and if I can do it so can he.".

The tears were falling freely now, streaming down her face like a river. She had spent every night in the astronomy tower pondering her true feelings towards the situation and she felt so good having them said. She found that love has a way of cutting them apart like nothing else, even though it was the thing that was supposed to keep them closer. She looked up at him, his eyes were to the ground and tears were falling. He struggled, trying to go over everything in his head. "I'm sorry," he says, "for that time I kissed you at that party and for that time at the wedding and more than anything for the thousand times that I wanted to and didn't have the guts to.". She steps forward and presses her lips to his, and he responds his lips are on hers, hard and warm and pressing.

The touch is electrifying. This isn't a spark of destruction, but a spark of life. As much as she wanted to pull away, she couldn't. Sirius is a cliff and she throws herself over the edge, not bothering to think of what it could do to them both. The kiss is a broken promise on borrowed time. His touch is faulty fuse struck with the hottest match. Possessing all the potential in the world without an ounce of fulfillment. She pulls away slowly and turns from him. No matter how much she wants to feel him, she cannot. She knows she must keep her eyes ahead, and away from the fire of the boy she cares so much for, and that she must freeze her heart to the one person who insists on setting it ablaze. She pulls all her stuff together and walks out the door, leaving him alone in the tower.


	21. Chapter Nineteen

Ines believed that nothing can be gained through extensive study and wide reading. Give them up immediately. The more content you try to capture during a lecture or a meeting, the less you're thinking about what's being said. You burn through most of your attention parroting the source. But, thanks to her wonderful friends, her philosophy was thrown out the window in the week before their O.W.L's. Ines didn't want to admit it, but the only reason she was going to do well - or so she hoped - on her O.W.L's was because of Lily's persistence. Her O.W.L schedule worked out quite nicely. First History of Magic then Charms on Monday, Tuesday she had Potions, and Astronomy at midnight, Wednesday the dreaded Herbology, Finally Thursday she had Defense Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration. The next day they would be heading home, but instead of the usual dreaded ride she would be going to James'.

She poured over a Herbology book, something she struggled in. It was something her and Gavin often bonded in, and it hurt to think that they hardly spoke anymore. After she stormed off the Quidditch pitch at their last game, they lost, taking them out of the running for the championship. But he was more upset about the fact that she wouldn't confide in him, or even give him the time of day. She had opted to be completely alone, in every sense of the word. Her friends noticed and kept their distance while staying close in case she needed them. In this case, she did, as she was rotten at Herbology.

She was learning about the Fanged Geranium, but all she could think of was the catchy introduction from Toots, Shoots, 'n' Roots. She whispered it under her breath as she pretended to read, "Bouncing bulbs losing height? Devil's Snare merely tickling? Fanged Geranium nothing but gums? Then tune your wireless to Toots, Shoots 'n' Roots the award-winning herbology presented by Tilden Toots, the wizard with three gr-". Lily cut her off "Does he really have three thumbs.". Ines looked up at her, and she looked down at her disapprovingly. "Lily I'm sorry, I just can't focus, especially on Herbology of all things.". She leaned back in her chair, "Fine, if you won't work can you fetch me Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard.". She jumped up from her seat, stretching her legs. She laughed at her eagerness and went back to her strut through the shelves, searching for the Defense Against the Dark Arts section. She had been in the library plenty of times, but the majority were for circumstances very different than reading or studying. She had had many 'dates' in the library in the past. She spotted the old sign labeling the correct section and turned into the first shelf. But instead of looking at the spines of the books for Wilbert Slinkhard she was face to face with another person. It was if she was staring at her own reflection, she knew his face so well. He was staring right back at her with a semi-blank expression. She had caught him off guard and was able to see his face without his mask for only a second. He was shocked to see her, and the fact that nobody was around allowed him to be able to look at her. Ines struggled to tell if he missed her, or pitied her, or hated her.

There was no need for any sort of segway when it came to Oberon, Ines didn't have the ability or need to go through any sort of pleasantries with him. "How is everything?". She asked. To an eavesdropper, the question would sound like a polite introduction, but they both knew what it really meant. How was everything at home, their parents, how were they treating him? "Fine, I don't want to talk about it.". The answer wasn't what Ines wanted but she almost melted at the sound of his voice. She hadn't had a conversation like this with him in forever. One where they weren't practically spitting in each other's faces. Ines knew what his answer meant, nothing was ok. She could have expected that answer but wished for it to never come. His expression turned uncertain as he saw that her eyes were watering. After clearing her throat, Ines managed an unsteady reply "We used to share a bond. We used to do everything together. We used to have a piece of strong, thread connecting us, and I like to think that it's indestructible – it can never be broken. The thread is the key item that links us together. We understand each other. Am I wrong?"

What came next wasn't exactly silence, because although it was quiet, a thousand things were being said. Ines was used to it, it came with being a part of an unhappy household, that feeling of being perched and listening, the way an animal must feel at night in the dark, assessing danger. She stepped towards him, and he looked to be debating if he should step away. "I don't know who you are anymore," he mutters. Ines wasn't happy with his response and strode up to him and grabbed his arms, tears brimming around her eyes "You do! I know you do! You just don't want to believe it! You don't want to believe in anything that I believe in because Mother and Father don't believe it, please just consider my perspective!". There's a sob building inside her so immense and powerful she feels that it's going to break all her bones but she just doesn't care. He doesn't rip himself from her grasp and just stared down at her, emotion creeping onto his face. "Please don't do this, please don't leave me. Please-".

His name was called from the end of the row of shelves, Regulus stood there, a book in hand and his mouth opened. Ines looked from Oberon to Regulus, Oberon knew what she was thinking and she wondered if Regulus did too. That they were the same. They were both in love with a Black boy and it wasn't allowed. She gripped him tighter and whispered her next words "You think you can get what you truly want by staying in line and being Mother and Father's good little boy because you're sorely mistaken. If you truly want love him-" Oberon tried to rip himself from her, not wanting to hear her talk about him and Regulus but Ines persisted "-Then you should do what is right".

She pushed him from her and walked away, strutting back to where Lily would be. She thought about how they would only grow further apart in life he would develop a personality that she would know nothing about, they would start our families, have children of their own, and there would come a point when in thinking about 'family' he would think of the ones he made, not the ones he is from.


	22. Chapter Twenty

The four House tables were gone. Instead, there were more than a hundred smaller tables, all facing the same way, at each of which sat a student, head bent low, scribbling on a roll of parchment. The only sound was the scratching of quills and the occasional rustle as somebody adjusted their parchment. Sunshine was streaming through the high windows onto the bent heads, which shone chestnut and copper and gold in the bright light. Ines was hardly looking at her paper anymore, Defense Against the Dark Arts being one of her best subjects, she finished quite early. Sirius was lounging in his chair at his ease next to her, tilting it back on two legs. James yawned hugely and rumpled up his hair, making it even messier than it had been. Then, with a glance toward Professor Flitwick, he turned in his seat and grinned at the two of them. They had all, without doubt, passed that test with flying colors. Flitwick, who was proctoring the exam called that there were only five minutes remaining. Ines looked behind her at Remus who was absorbed in the exam: As he reread his answers he scratched his chin with the end of his quill, frowning slightly. A few seats away she watched as Peter chewed his fingernails, staring down at his paper, scuffing the ground with his toes. Every now and then he glanced hopefully at Emmeline's paper.

It was not Ines' first choice to be sat with Sirius, but she had been studying last minute with Gavin. Not that she truly needed it, but he had offered to help and she didn't want to deny his requests to be with her again. When she strode in only a minute before the exam started she found Sirius staring at her from his seat. He had done this on purpose.

"Quills down, please!" squeaked Professor Flitwick. "That means you too, Stebbins! Please remain seated while I collect your parchment! Accio!". More than a hundred rolls of parchment zoomed into the air and into Professor Flitwick's outstretched arms, knocking him backward off his feet. Several people laughed. A couple of students at the front desks got up, Lily included, took hold of Professor Flitwick beneath the elbows, and lifted him onto his feet again. "Thank you, thank you," panted Professor Flitwick. "Very well, everybody, you're free to go!". Ines stood from her seat and to Sirius surprise, she waited for him.

"Did you like question ten, Moony?" asked Sirius as they emerged into the entrance hall. "Loved it," said Lupin briskly. " 'Give five signs that identify the werewolf.' Excellent question." "D'you think you managed to get all the signs?" said James in tones of mock concern. "Think I did," said Lupin seriously, as they joined the crowd throwing around the front doors eager to get out into the sunlit grounds. "One: He's sitting on my chair. Two: He's wearing my clothes. Three: His name's Remus Lupin" Peter was the only one who didn't laugh. "I got the snout shape, the pupils of the eyes, and the tufted tail," he said anxiously, "but I couldn't think what else" "How thick are you, Peter?" said Ines impatiently. "You run around with a werewolf once a month" "Keep your voice down," implored Lupin.

They walked down the lawn towards the lake, and to their surprise, Ines joined them. Sirius slowed down to join Ines in the back. "Hey," he whispered, "How do you think the exam went?". They both knew neither of them cared to know how their exam went, but was glad to be talking all the same and went along with it. "Fine, you?". He grinned, glad she was speaking to him "I thought that paper was a piece of cake, I'll be surprised if I don't get Outstanding on it at least.". Ines giggled, she was glad to have her Sirius back. All this time of ignoring him was so difficult, she missed talking to him like this.

"Me too," James yelled from the front. He put his hand in his pocket and took out a struggling Golden Snitch. "Where'd you get that?" Ines asked. "Nicked it," said James casually. He started playing with the Snitch, allowing it to fly as much as a foot away and seizing it again; his reflexes were excellent. Peter watched him in awe. They settled at the tree a little ways from the lake where Ines and Sirius had flown on that night they were 'practicing their beater skills'. Lupin had pulled out a book and was reading. James was still playing with the Snitch, letting it zoom farther and farther away, almost escaping but always grabbed at the last second. Peter was watching him with his mouth open. Every time James made a particularly difficult catch, he gasped and applauded. Ines sat with Sirius, leaning against the tree and watching the people mill about around them. Many stared, them having not been seen together for a while caused mass confusion. Sirius nudged her arm and directed her to James, he was staring at Lily again, fixing his hair. Ines rolled her eyes and they silently laughed. It was a simple gesture, something they used to do quite often, but it was comforting.

"Put that away, will you?" said Sirius finally, as James made a fine catch and Peter let out a cheer. "Before Peter wets himself from excitement.". He turned to Ines, and she caught on that he was trying to show off, to her. Peter turned slightly pink but James grinned. "If it bothers you," he said, stuffing the Snitch back in his pocket. "I'm bored," said Sirius. "Wish it was a full moon." "You might," said Lupin darkly from behind his book. "We've still got Transfiguration if you're bored you could test ." He held out his book. Sirius snorted. "I don't need to look at that rubbish, I know it all.". Ines took the book from Remus outstretched hand and began to quiz him. After a few minutes, she heard James from behind her. "This'll liven you up, mate," said James quietly. "Look who it is.". Sirius's head turned. He had become very still, like a dog that has scented a rabbit. "Excellent," he said softly. "Snivellus." Ines turned to see what Sirius was looking at. Snape was on his feet and was stowing the O.W.L. paper in his bag. As he emerged from the shadows of the bushes and set off across the grass, Sirius and James stood up. Remus stayed at the foot of the tree, book in hand "I'll be right back Remus, I'm going to go see Lily. He nodded and looked up "They've been doing this more often recently, much more reckless." Ines let out a sigh. "I've heard, Lily's complained about it".

Down at the water's edge, Lily sat with Marlene, Emmeline, Dorcas, and Mary. Lily and Emmeline were going over their notes for Transfiguration and Dorcas, Marlene, and Mary was talking jovially. They greeted her when she approached with bright smiles, she had become so secluded in the past few weeks she hardly talked to them at all. Ines sat down in front of Lily, facing her and the Black Lake behind her. They spoke of how the exam went, their previous exams, and excitement towards the upcoming summer. Emmeline was talking about her Divination exam when something caught Lily's attention. She jumped up from her spot and began striding back up the lawn, Ines watched for a moment to see where she was going.

Snape's wand flew twelve feet into the air and fell with a little thud in the grass behind him. Sirius let out a bark of laughter. "Impedimenta!" he said, pointing his wand at Snape, who was knocked off his feet, halfway through a dive toward his own fallen wand. Students all around had turned to watch. Some of them had gotten to their feet and were edging nearer to watch. Some looked apprehensive, others entertained. Snape lay panting on the ground. James and Sirius advanced on him, wands up, James glancing over his shoulder at the girls at the water's edge as he went. Snape was trying to get up, but the jinx was still operating on him; he was struggling, as though bound by invisible ropes. "Wash out your mouth," said James coldly. "Scourgify!" Pink soap bubbles streamed from Snape's mouth at once; the froth was covering his lips, making him gag, choking him

"Leave him ALONE!" James and Sirius looked around. James's free hand jumped to his hair again. Lily had reached the boys, and Ines wasn't far behind. "All right, Evans?" said James, and the tone of his voice was suddenly pleasant, deeper, more mature. "Leave him alone," Lily repeated. She was looking at James with every sign of great dislike. "What's he done to you?" "Well," said James, appearing to deliberate the point, "it's more the fact that he exists if you know what I mean." Many of the surrounding watchers laughed, Sirius and Peter included, but Lupin, still apparently intent on his book, didn't, and neither did Lily. "You think you're funny," she said coldly. "But you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone.". "I will if you go out with me, Evans," said James quickly. "James!" Ines gasped, appalled at his lack of manners but he ignored her. "Go on, Go out with me, and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."

Behind him, the Impediment Jinx was wearing off. Snape was beginning to inch toward his fallen wand, spitting out soap suds as he crawled. "I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid," said Lily, now gripping Ines who stood right behind her in solidarity. "Bad luck, James," said Sirius briskly, turning back to Snape. "OY!". But too late; Snape had directed his wand straight at James; there was a flash of light and a gash appeared on the side of James's face, spattering his robes with blood. Ines gasped, along with the rest of the crowd. James whirled about; a second flash of light later, Snape was hanging upside down in the air, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs and a pair of graying underpants. Many people in the small crowd watching cheered. Sirius, James, and Peter roared with laughter. Ines, whose furious expression had twitched for an instant as though she was going to smile, said, "Let him down!". Sirius looked to her in confusion but Ines stood strong. "Now" Lily groaned. "Certainly," said James and he jerked his wand upward. Snape fell into a crumpled heap on the ground. Disentangling himself from his robes, he got quickly to his feet, wand up, but Sirius said, "Petrificus Totalus!" and Snape keeled over again at once, rigid as a board.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Lily shouted. She had her own wand out now. James and Sirius eyed it warily. "Ah, Evans, don't make me hex you," said James earnestly. "Take the curse off him, then!" James sighed deeply, then turned to Snape and muttered the countercurse. "There you go," he said, as Snape struggled to his feet again, "you're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus". "I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her! Or the blood traitor Avery" Lily blinked. The name didn't bother Ines, but she knew it would hurt Lily beyond belief. "Fine," she said coolly. "I won't bother in future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, Snivellus." "Apologize to Evans!" James roared at Snape, his wand pointed threateningly at him. "I don't want you to make him apologize," Lily shouted, rounding on James. "You're as bad as he is." "What?" yelped James. "I'd NEVER call you a — you-know-what!"

"Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can, I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK." She turned on her heel and hurried away, tears brimming in her eyes. "Evans!" James shouted after her, "Hey, EVANS!" But she didn't look back. "What is it with her?" said James, trying and failing to look as though this was a throwaway question of no real importance to him. "Reading between the lines, I'd say she thinks you're a bit conceited, mate," said Sirius.

Ines could hardly believe what she had witnessed. Her friends mercilessly messed with Snape, and as deserving as it was, they did it purely out of boredom. Like children. Sirius stepped forwards, whispering her name, with an outstretched hand. Behind him, James was absolutely furious and seething. When Sirius reached her arm she stepped away. "No, you can't do that. You can't ... all four of you can't just act like children and expect to get away with it!". "Ines please!" Sirius yelled as Ines left to catch up with Lily. "Right," said James, who looked furious now, "right —" There was another flash of light, and Snape was once again hanging upside down in the air. "Who wants to see me take off Snivelly's pants?".


	23. Chapter Twenty One

The girls were practically buried in sweet wrappers. Ines had her own personal whorde of sugar quill wrappers that was now spilling onto the compartment floor. Her friends were glad to have the real Ines back. She was no longer cowering at the sight of her friends, afraid to have any sort of attachment to anyone. She had come to terms with the fact that she couldn't carry out the rest of her days that way, and that her friends were only there to help. She had yet to see the boys. She sat furthest from them during their Transfiguration exam, one she could also confidently say she passed, and then in the common room after. She hadn't gone to the compartment she knew they were in. She could tell because Marlene was trying to convince them all to get the compartment right next to their rather than their usual one. Her persistent crush on Sirius had become increasingly annoying, especially after yesterday's events.

Ines stared out the window, reaching her usual favorite spot on the bridge. She took her moment to admire its beauty, she watched as a cold wind raced across the surrounding fields of wild grass, turning the land into a heaving dark-green ocean. It soared up through the branches of the trees and rattled the thick leaves. She turned back to find that her friends were looking as well, a smile crept onto her face. When the moment had passed and their smiles faded, Ines decided to diffuse the tension and grab some more sweets. She whispered that she would be right back and slipped out of the door. On the way to the trolley she heard her name called from a compartment, she had just passed. Gavin stepped out of it, a small smile on his face. "Gavin," she whispered, "Nice to see you.". He continued to smile, "I was just on my way to see you," He lifted his hands from his pocket and pulled out a few packs of sugar quills "I bought more than I wanted and knew you would appreciate some.". She took it from him, unable to look into his eyes.

She didn't deserve this kindness, especially from him. He was an incredibly kind and caring boy and she felt as though she led him on. In the moment, of course, the time they spent together, it didn't feel that way. At the time she hadn't fully accepted her feelings, and even now she hadn't. They walked back to her compartment, as the girls were just leaving. Emmeline blushed as the girls looked to her to explain "Owen Caudwell has invited us to sit in his compartment, they've got a pretty intense game of exploding snap if you'd care to join.". Ines smiled, "Just a moment,". The girls filed out, giving soft glances to Gavin as the did. She could still barely look at him and chose to stare at his captain's badge instead. He had been so excited to show it to her on the train ride to school at the start of term. "I'm giving it to James." He said, patting the badge "Don't get me wrong, you're a right good beater, but, I think he'd be good for the team.". Ines smiled, he was going to be over the moon excited. "Yeah, he will be.". They were silent, the only sound being people milling about the hall and the train on the tracks.

"I'm sorry," Ines mumbled, "I'm sorry I can't give you what it is you want, or at least what I think you want.". He bowed his head, he didn't look too upset but he definitely wasn't happy. He moved his head to look up at her, and he did for only a moment, before looking beyond her. Ines turned to find Sirius a few feet away, staring. He obviously hadn't intended for this interaction to happen and was in the process of turning and walking away when Ines looked at him. She held his gaze before turning back to Gavin. She pressed a soft kiss to his cheek and hugged him tightly. He walked back to his compartment, and Ines followed the sound of excited yells. She found her friends, engrossed in Owen and his friends' exploding snap match and joined in the happiness. She did her best to mask her sadness and knew her friends saw right through it.

As the train slowed down in the approach to King's Cross, Ines thought she had never wanted to leave it less. She even wondered fleetingly what would happen if she simply refused to get off, but remained stubbornly sitting there until the first of September, when it would take her back to Hogwarts. When it finally puffed to a standstill, however, she lifted down her owl's cage and prepared to drag her trunk from the train as usual.

She exited the train and hugged all her friend's goodbye. It was a sad departure, but they were all absolutely exhausted from the year and their O.W.L exams that some quality time with their family was well needed. Despite Ines feeling otherwise about what she needed, she understood and wanted only the best for her friends. They were all excited to see their parents, and Ines wished for only a second that she felt the same way. That was until the crowds parted and she saw Euphemia and Fleamont. She rushed through the hordes of people towards the woman who was a better mother in the five days she spent at her house than her actual mother was in her entire life. Her path was blocked by her brother. He stood resolutely and staring around nervously. He was looking for their parents. He gripped her shoulders, stopping her from running. "Where are you staying this summer?" He whispered. Ines took a step back, in such shock that he would ask such a thing. "The Potters." She mumbled, he nodded and kept walking.

Ines looked around, hoping the crowd of bustling people had concealed that moment and kept walking towards Euphemia. She hadn't seen the interaction as she was engrossed in greeting James and Sirius. They were wrapped up in hugs and smiles. Sirius fit right in, his dark hair was practically the same tone as the Potters. Ines wondered how she fared up against them, she was much paler, her hair was lighter. She struggled to separate herself from her brother, they were identical, and she could never escape that as much as she wanted to. She reluctantly joined the Potters, hugging Euphemia first then Fleamont. They walked from the platform, chatting of the upcoming summer. Ines passed Oberon yet again, this time he was flanked by her family, just as she was hers.


	24. Chapter Twenty Two

Every summer that Ines had experienced before were quite strange. When she wasn't locked up in her home, she was sneaking into the town, both the magic and muggle one. The summer before she had met a boy named Dmitri, their romance - if you could even call it that - was fleeting as he moved closer to Durmstrang. He had no idea who she was, who her family was, and what she was risking by meeting him. His uncle Igor had taken him to the area so he could visit Hogwarts for reasons that Ines never found out, mostly due to the fact that she and Dmitri spent very little time talking and more time in his bed. He had taken up residence at the finest Inn and stayed for almost the entire summer. It was quite freeing, he knew her as Ines and Ines only. Not Ines Avery, Oberon's Gryffindor sister, or the blood traitor. Ines would often wonder if Oberon would every cover for her if she were to get caught coming back in the middle of the night. She found that the easiest way was through the outdoor house elf entrance to the kitchen, up to the back stairwells, through the hidden door in the second-floor library, and up into her bedroom. So, she never gave him the chance to try.

The summers before she ever went to Hogwarts were some of the greatest she ever had. It is easy to forget now, how effervescent and free she felt in those summers. Ines and Oberon didn't have any friends in the area, their parents didn't like any of the pureblood families they lived near. But it didn't matter to them, because they had each other. Their home had been beautiful at first, summer brought its full glow and luxuriance of its richness. The great trees, which had looked shrunken and bare in the earlier months, had now burst into strong life and health; and stretching forth their green arms over the thirsty ground, converted open and naked spots into choice nooks, where was a deep and pleasant shade from which to look upon the wide prospect, steeped in sunshine, which lay stretched out beyond. The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green and shed her richest perfumes abroad. It was the prime and vigor of the year; all things were glad and flourishing.

They spent most of their time on the ivy-covered hillside in the backyard. They were warlocks and mermaids and goblins and that was their reality. If someone said, 'Isn't it cute, look at them playing,' they would have smiled back, humoring them, but it wasn't playing. It was a transformation. It was their own world. Their own rules. The confidence that Ines had now was completely nonexistent at the time, she was an entirely different girl. She was glued to her older brothers side, their hands always intertwined. She feared anything and everything and believed her brother would protect her from them. It was so fatally easy to make young children believe that they are horrible, and Oberon protected her from that.

But now she was protected only by the walls in her bedroom at the Potters. Her bottom lip trembled. She got up from her seat on the bed, walked to the window to look outside, staring at the darkness, not really seeing anything but the years falling away, stripping away the cool, confident woman she was now, revealing the scared little girl she once was. She'd vowed to never go back to that place, to never revisit those feelings again, yet here she stood. Ines wanted to grab her brother's hand and run back through time, losing years like coats falling from their shoulders. She's safer than she had been in days, surrounded by the people she loved most, and yet she never wanted to cry more. For them, she holds her years back, and curl inward to bleed alone, inside, where nobody else could see. When the dawn light was coursing through the slats in the shutters at last, making thin stripes on the floor, she decided that for every human soul there must surely be a possible childhood worth living, but once it slips by, there isn't any reclaiming it or revising it.

The majority of her summer days were spent in her room, she hardly spoke the boys. She sent many letters to all her friends, the majority being to Lily. After a month they could hardly stand the distance and Lily invited her to her house, it was quite far from the Potters, all the way in Cokeworth but she didn't mind. When the day finally arrived, she made an unusual appearance to the Potters kitchen to tell Euphemia. She was quite surprised to see her there. Ines hadn't ignored her by any means, they spoke occasionally, but she never ventured out of her bedroom for long for them to have any more conversations. James and Sirius were in the living room, watching her as she spoke to Euphemia from down the hall. Ines ignored their persistent gazes and continued to walk through the kitchen to Euphemia. "Ines, dear," Euphemia cooed, "How are you?". "I'm well, I was wondering if I could go and visit my friend, Lily, in Cokeworth, tomorrow afternoon.". Euphemia smiled and leaned in, whispering into her ear "The girl that James always speaks of?". Ines leaned back and laughed, "Yes, her. She's a wonderful girl. I've got it all figured out, there's a wizarding tavern not far from her home with an open Floo Network, so if possible, could I borrow some Floo powder and use your fireplace?". Euphemia was handed a pouch of powder from James' house elf as he had been listening and Euphemia passed it on to Ines. "Of course, are the boys not invited.". "No," Ines snapped, faster and firmer than she would have liked "No, Lily's asked for just me.".

Euphemia pursed her lips, "The boys are your best friends, I know you care for them deeply. But as great of a friend they can be, they can be colossal idiots. We are all mistaken sometimes; sometimes we do wrong things, things that have bad consequences. But it does not mean we are evil, or that we cannot be trusted ever afterward. Please don't hold a grudge against them. Grudges are for those who insist that they are owed something; forgiveness, however, is for those who are substantial enough to move on. A broken friendship, a broken romance, that is mended through forgiveness can be even stronger than it once was.". At the mention of romance Ines straightened up, she wondered what Mrs. Potter knew, or thought she knew. Euphemia noticed her sudden rigid stance and held an arm out and gripped her shoulder. "Learn to love someone when they least deserve it because that is when they need your love most.". She let go and walked further into the kitchen towards the pot that was being cleaned by itself.

Ines turned on her heel, to the boy's surprise, she walked into the living room to where they sat. They were sat on the couch playing wizarding chess but had been listening to Ines conversation with Euphemia more than anything else. She stood behind them, leaning over the back of the couch, and moved Sirius' knight to the perfect position to take out James rook. "I'm visiting Lily tomorrow, I'll send her your love," she said this as casually as she possibly could. It was very difficult. The boys knew she wasn't absolutely furious with them, but she definitely wasn't happy. The silence was it's on kind of tension, and the room was filled with it. Just as Ines was to turn on her heel Sirius spoke, "You look nice today, Ines.". She wore cream-colored trousers, a navy blue top, and her hair fell over her left shoulder. "Thank you," she whispered, before walking back down the hall, up to the stairs, and into her room where she fully allowed herself to blush. He wasn't saying it with any ill intent, to get into her pants, or get her to forgive him. But because she truly believed it.


	25. Chapter Twenty Three

Ines was not unfamiliar with the Floo network and went through it with ease. She bid goodbye to the Potters, and Sirius and was off to the Cokeworth tavern. Stepping out of the fireplace she was greeted with many men all staring her up and down, she guessed it wasn't often that an unaccompanied young girl made her way through their fireplace. Lily had given her directions to her home from the tavern which she followed with some difficulty, navigation was not her forte. She reached a very uniform looking road named High Street, walked down past 6 houses to find 17 Willis Street. Lily's home. She walked up the drive, past the perfectly manicured lawn, and onto the porch on which she knocked on the door. After a few moments, she heard some bustling from behind the door.

The door opened to reveal not Lily, but who Ines could only assume was Petunia. Ines had heard many rotten things about Lily's older sister and her appearance held true to Ines' image of her. Petunia was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, the opposite of Lily. She peered down at her with disgust, "Are you one of Lily's freak friends? Like the snake boy?". Ines didn't know how to answer and stuttered profusely. She assumed Petunia meant Snape, and as much as she disliked him was shocked at the amount of hate in her voice. Petunia, not wanting to wait for an answer stalked off down the hall, revealing Lily sprinting down the stairs yelling at Petunia as she went "Tuney leave her be! Go away!". Petunia stalked off, remarking something about a man named Vernon and turned into the kitchen.

Lily reached the doorway and the girls embraced jovially. Ines had missed Lily so dearly that she nearly cried at the sight of her, pulling out of their hug she noticed Lily almost doing the same. Ines looked around her home in awe, and Lily followed her gaze. She had never been in a muggle home before, she hadn't even spoken to one before she came to Hogwarts. She had believed her parent's ideals for only a little, and even then she wasn't so sure of them. Going to Hogwarts changed just about everything about her, including her viewpoint towards non-pureblood witches and wizards.

Lily dragged her up to her bedroom and Ines was greeted with the most perfect physical representation of who Lily was. Light flooded her senses; for a split second Ines, blinking in its brilliance, as though she would go blind. Then she blinked again, and the room itself was a pale blue: red roses climbing the walls, a white and blue canopy- of course, a canopy- matching the wadded silk bedspread, braided rugs strewn across the bare wooden floorboards. The wall behind her desk, covered in papers, was filled entirely with a bookshelf. Each shelf practically bursting at the seams with the books, both magic, and muggle.

She had many pictures, some moving some not. There was plenty of her family, most of them from many years ago. Ines spotted herself in some of them. There was muggle one of her after her second year, Mrs. Evans had brought a camera to the platform to get a picture of Lily with her friends. When her parents saw that go down, she was confined to her room for the first month of summer, not that she really minded. There was a magic one of the day Ines and her had gone to Diagon Allet for the first time together. Ines sat across from Lily, giggling into her steaming cup of butterbeer with its foam lining her upper lip. There was one that Ines had never thought she would see again, James had asked Sirius to take a photo of him and Lily as he surprised her. Lily was furious, not only because of the photo but the fact that James had scared her so much she spilled her inkwell. When the photo had developed she snatched it from Sirius and Ines had always assumed that she had burnt it or thrown it out, but it was tucked into a space on her desk.

They sat on her bed, just as they would have back at Hogwarts and spoke for hours. Lily told her that her parents were both working and that she would see them later, and apologized for Petunia. Ines, knowing all about hating siblings, laughed it off. Around late afternoon, Lily's parents had come home. When Ines went down to see them Mr. and Mrs. Evans greeting was cut off by the sound of Petunia's yelling. "Agh! That blasted motorbike". She was peering out the window, her yells proceeded a loud groaning sound. Ines whispered, "What's a motorbike?". Mr. and Mrs. Evans had heard and looked to Lily in confusion. They knew that the girl she told them was visiting was a witch like Lily, but assumed she would know about their lives. "Mum, Dad, This is Ines as you remember," She looked to Ines awkwardly, wishing she wouldn't have to explain "She comes from a wizarding family, so, she only knows of magic things.". Mr. and Mrs. Evans nodded in understanding, sparing slightly confused looks. "So, what is it that your parents do?".

Lily's head snapped, ready to defend her from the question. But Ines didn't give her the chance and took it gracefully, "My father works in the banks and my mother manages our estate.". Ines really was not in the mood to explain her father's role in the Goblin Liaison office and her mother doing absolutely nothing but gossiping with other pureblood mothers for a living and kept it to that. The Evans accepted her answer, and Ines assumed the confusion was due to the fact that they had expected a job of much more excitement and thrill. After a few more minutes of polite conversation, Ines and Lily headed into her backyard and sat in the garden among the flowers. Petunia had taken to working in the garden constantly and it was perfectly organized and manicured so the girls did their best not the muck any of it up. They spoke a bit about the expected date of their O.W.L results before the found themselves in a still silence, they both had the same thought on their mind. Thinking of their exams brought them back to thinking of the boys and Severus, and what they had done.

"Is living with the boys strange at all? Considering what happened.". She asked, turning over from on her back to face Ines. "Very, we haven't spoken much, save for a few polite conversations. Running into each other in the halls, grabbing food. There's just so much tension and awkwardness I wish I could say something more to them but I don't know how especially considering how long I've ignored them. They're very sorry, I know it, they feel horrible.". Lily turned away, not in anger or indifference but to think. "I know you're living with them and all, but I think I want to decide that for myself when I see them.". Ines nodded, "I respect that, makes sense.".

It was getting darker out, the sun had fallen behind the trees and the lights in the surrounding homes. Ines bid Lily and her family, save for Petunia, goodbye as she wanted at least some sight on her way back to the pub. Despite knowing they would see each other in less than a week Lily and Ines had a long goodbye, watched adoringly by Mr. and Mrs. Evans. She walked back to the pub and ignored all the staring men as she walked into the fireplace and called for the Potter's house. She was greeted by James and Sirius sitting on the couch just as they had been when she left. Except without a chessboard between them, there sat Euphemia. Sirius stood when she arrived, smiling brightly, before realizing the eagerness in his actions and sitting back down. It was silent for only a moment as they all looked at Sirius. "How's my darling, Lily?" James asked softly, Ines grinned "She's good, patiently awaiting her exam results.". She stepped out of the fireplace and they all watched her. She whispered 'goodnight' before walking down the hall, up the stairs, and into her room. More content than she had been in days.


	26. Chapter Twenty Four

Ines had awoken the next morning to the sound of laughter, no doubt from Sirius. They had all started speaking to each other more and consequently, the house felt, brighter. They had even played Quidditch one afternoon, but had yet to speak of what happened. When Ines arrived downstairs ten minutes later, fully dressed and carrying her empty breakfast tray, it was to find James sitting at the kitchen table in great agitation, while Sirius laughed beside him. "I only said I think Dumbledore said our O.W.L. results would be arriving today, I'm not sure". "Today?" shrieked James. "Today? But why didn't you, oh Merlin, you should have said —". Ines sat across from them, cutting James off before he could blabber on any further. "Since when have you become such a scholar? What do these marks mean all of a sudden.". James, still unable to speak, didn't answer so Sirius relayed his thoughts for him. "With the results also come to the verdict on whether or not he's Quidditch captain.". Ines nodded and sent a big smile to Sirius, which he seemed to understand, he was without a doubt getting captain.

Euphemia came from behind them, dressed quite nicely, "James what is all this ruckus? I can hardly-" Her words were drowned in a scream. James was pointing through the kitchen window. Three black specks were clearly visible in the sky, growing larger all the time. "They're definitely owls," said Sirius hoarsely, jumping up to join James at the window. "And there are three of them," said Ines, hastening to her other side. "One for each of us," said James in a terrified whisper. "Oh no . . . oh no . . . oh no . . .". He gripped both Sirius and Ines tightly around the elbows.

The owls were flying directly at the window, three handsome tawnies, each of which, it became clear as they flew lower over the path leading up to the house, was carrying a large square envelope. "Oh no!" squealed James. Euphemia squeezed past them and opened the kitchen window letting them in, to then line up in an even row on the kitchen table. All three of them lifted their right legs. Ines moved forward. The letter addressed to hers was tied to the leg of the owl in the middle. She untied it with fumbling fingers. To his left, Sirius was trying to detach his own results; to his right, James' hands were shaking so much he was making his whole owl tremble. Nobody in the kitchen spoke. At last, Ines managed to detach the envelope. She slit it open quickly and unfolded the parchment inside. On top, there was the regular term paper, book list, and then the exam results. She read the parchment several times, her breathing becoming easier with each reading.

It was all right. She had expected to do poorly in Herbology and was quite satisfied with her "Dreadful" grade considering how difficult it was. She looked around. James had his back to her and his head bent, his exam grades were on the floor as he discarded them the second they arrived only to read through the Quidditch letter. But Sirius was looking delighted. "Only failed History of Magic, and who cares about that?" he said happily to Ines. "Here, swap,". They handed their papers to each other and Ines found that his grades were essentially the same, save for an 'Acceptable' in transfiguration where Ines had gotten an 'Exceeds Expectations' as well as an 'Acceptable in Herbology'.

"Well, we're N.E.W.T. students now!" grinned Sirius. "Mum, are there any more sausages?" Ines looked back down at his results. They were as good as she could have hoped for. James was still standing very still with his mouth slightly open, gaping at his letter. "What's the matter?" said Sirius with mock impatience, moving around James to look over his shoulder at the parchment. "Captain!" he said, staring incredulously and happily at the letter. Ines saw something scarlet and gold fall into Sirius' palm. Ines gleamed "You were a shoe in James, I'm so happy for you.". James could still hardly speak and sat down silently, pinning his badge to his pajama top and eating, his eyes still glazed over.

"Wotcher!" Sirius called, "We've got another letter? Maybe is Dumbledore sending to say they messed up the captain spot! Oh I hope it's me." Sirius got a shove in the side for that but after a laugh, he stood to collect the letter from the owl. He paused for only a moment before turning to Ines, his gaze darkening "It's for you, Gavin.". He handed her the letter and she walked from the table, leaving him and Euphemia coddling James for his accomplishment. In the sitting room, she ripped open the seal and read the letter.

Dear Ines,

By the time you receive this I assume the Hogwarts letters have arrived, as well as the Quidditch one. I hope James doesn't hurt himself from shock, I could see him doing that. Tell him that he truly deserves the position and I wish him the best for the upcoming season. I'm pleased to say I've found a job at the Department of Magical Games and Sports, It's no Puddlemere United but I'm quite happy with it. I'm writing to clear some things up more than anything else. I, first of all, want to say that you are truly a wonderful girl and I wish you nothing but the best. Which is why I understand our relationship, or whatever it was, this past year. I had always been a bit uneasy when it came to understanding your feelings, I couldn't figure it out. I think it all came together the last time we spoke, on the train ride home. I'm not the best for you, someone else is, and I want nothing more for you to be with them if that is what makes you happiest. I hope for you to be happy above all, and maybe teach him to aim his bludgers better, I don't want you getting a broken nose like me.

All my love,

Gavin Gudgeon

Ines read it over and over again, rivaling James stance when reading the captains letter. Gavin was too kind, she should have treated him so much better than she had. He was truly a good soul. She took a moment to collect herself before walking back into the kitchen, James was now showing the letter to his father and Sirius was eating his breakfast quietly. Making her way around the table the talking quieted before she sat. "James, Gavin says congratulations and that he wishes you the best this upcoming season," James smiled, still high of the exhilaration of the announcement. "That was all?" Sirius asked, trying his best to sound confrontational. "Almost all," she whispered before shoving her mouth full with breakfast.

Hours later Ines was arranging her books she would be packing in two days time to head back to school. She was interrupted by a knock at the door, assuming it was Euphemia she opened it with no hesitation. But to her surprise, it was Sirius. In all the times they'd spoken, it was never in her room. She stared into his eyes, trying to decipher the look behind them. When she couldn't she stepped aside, letting him inside. He walked in, whispering a thank you, and sat on the bench adjacent from her bed. "Packing?" he asked, motioning to the open trunk. She nodded, and went and sat at the end of the bed facing him. They were silent, Ines could tell there was a question on the tip of his tongue that he was too scared to answer. "What is it," she whispered, he looked at her and blushed slightly at her perfect understanding of him. "Is he… are you… and Gavin s-". "No," she said firmly, then after a small blush lowered her tone "No, were not… anything. He wrote to say congratulations to James, where he was working, and that he understood that we weren't right for each other,". He didn't reply, taking in what Ines had said. He grinned slightly and stood to walk out, walking past her he ran his hands across her shoulder and went out the door.


	27. Chapter Twenty Five

Fleamont Potter strolled toward the barrier between platforms nine and ten, pushing James' trolley and apparently very interested in the InterCity 125 that had just arrived at platform nine. With a meaningful look at the kids, he leaned casually against the barrier. Ines imitated him. In a moment, they had fallen sideways through the solid metal onto platform nine and three-quarters and looked up to see the Hogwarts Express, a scarlet steam engine, puffing smoke over a platform packed with witches and wizards seeing their children onto the train. Ines was thrilled to be going back, as much as she enjoyed the Potters and their wonderful home, nothing was like home to her as Hogwarts was.

Pushing her way through the crowd she stowed her trunk along with the rest and made her way back to the Potters to bid them goodbye. Euphemia enveloped her in a big hug "Do take care, won't you, Ines?" She said as she straightened up, her eyes oddly bright. "The boys too, don't all three of you get in too much trouble.". She laughed off her joke, getting in trouble was practically unavoidable for the three of them, and bid goodbye to Fleamont. Walking towards the train beside Sirius she turned to tell him how excited she was when he grabbed her hand. Not out of endearment, or caring, but fear.

Victor Avery was striding over towards them, a cruel look upon his face. Ines curled into Sirius, while also mentally preparing for the imminent blow she was about to receive. "Ines," he murmured quite curtly, before looking around to check that nobody was watching their interaction. "I've commanded that Pippy no longer takes requests from you, so don't bother trying to summon her,".

Ines didn't speak, only nodded, and strode off. Her eyes filling with tears, she could hardly see, and Sirius led her on the steps. James and Sirius led the way to the end of the train, past packed compartments, to a carriage that looked quite empty. They loaded the trunks onto it, stowed their owls and bags in the luggage rack.

They were soon joined by Remus and Peter. They all greeted each other happily but the moment was cut short. Lily appeared in the door, gave a quick hug to Ines and a hesitant smile to the boys before grabbing Remus' hand. "We've got to go, I want to get to the prefect meeting early so we can get a spot at the front". He obliged, and compartment now only held Ines and the three boys.

Before long, Ines stood to leave "I'll be right back, I haven't seen the rest of the girls yet." Making her way through the halls she received many looks, generally from boys. A Hufflepuff boy she didn't recognize was talking with a Slytherin girl that Ines had seen Oberon with on a few occasions. He bid her hello and smiled brightly, Ines repaid his look and kept walked. She walked until she heard the unmistakable cry of Dorcas Meadowes, she was yelling something about her grade on the Divination exam results. She had always loved the class, the mystery intrigued her, but her grade of an 'Acceptable' was far from intriguing. Ines slipped into the door, yelling to be heard over the noise. "That's why I quit Divination! That, and the idiocy of it". Dorcas turned to refute her point, already very angry, but her gaze softened at the sight of Ines. She wrapped her in a great hug and they were soon joined by the rest of the girls.

"I can't stay long, I've told the boys I'd be right back but I wanted to say hello,". The girls unwrapped themselves from the hug and gave each other small looks. Marlene was the first to speak, quite tan from her vacation to the coast "How was it? living with the boys?". Ines bowed her head, she had recently felt increasingly guilty about how she was all summer. "Fine, terribly awkward, but fine. Better than it would've been if I had gone home that's for sure.". They took a moment to look down solemnly, giving a brief moment of silence. Ines slipped out, leaving Dorcas to continue her rant about her exam results. Walking back through the halls she could see her favorite moment of the trip peeking through the windows of the passing compartment windows, rushing back to her own to not miss the whole thing she was surprised by what she found when she reached it. James and Sirius were stood in front of the window looking out at the view, her view. The sound of her opening the door startled them, but they turned back to the window when Ines walked over and joined them. Staring out at the passing tree's Ines can't help but think of the boys on either side of them. Once the train made it off the bridge she stepped back and sat on a seat, and the boys soon found their way to the one across from her. She couldn't look at them as she spoke and opted to stare at her shoes instead.

"I forgive you both, and Remus, and Peter. I don't agree with what you did entirely, mostly it being on the grounds of boredom. But, I know you two are truly good souls and that that moment was not a reflection of who you two truly are. You are my greatest friends and … I'll love you both forever. I'm sorry if how I've been this summer reflected differently, but, I forgive you.". After a moment a silent Ines looked up and her and Sirius' eyes meet and hold, and the world starts to fall away, time does, years rolling up like rugs, until everything that's happened un-happens, and for a moment, it's them again, more one than two. Still looking at Sirius, James stands and envelops her in a bone-crushing hug, whispering how sorry he is and how much he loves her. When he finally lets go Ines stands to give Sirius the hug he had stood to give. His breath was warm on her neck as he bent his head, resting his cheek against her hair. Her heart beat so quickly, and yet she felt utterly calm as if she could have stayed there forever and not minded, stayed there forever and let the world fall apart around them. She pictured his fingers, pushing against that line, reaching for her despite the barrier between them.

Ines wanted to tell him so much more, she screamed it in her head, hoping he could hear it through some strange connection. 'I missed you and I lied to myself when I said I didn't. From the moment I started guarding myself, I missed you so much I went out of my mind. I kept thinking about how you might never know that I missed you with what felt like an ocean between us.'.

Once Remus and Peter returned Ines explained her forgiveness which they took with open arms. The rest of the train ride was as if the summer had never happened, playing exploding snap and relaxing together. At some point in the ride, Ines found herself leaning against Sirius, her head tucked into a space on his chest. She smiled at last. And damn if it didn't kill him, the quiet joy in her face. They had walked out of darkness and pain and despair together. They were still walking out of it. So that smile, it struck him stupid every time he saw it and realized it was for him and only him.


	28. Chapter Twenty Six

Once the train came to a stop they grabbed their belongings, made their way from the train, passing Hagrid calling for the first years and into the carriages. They trundled toward a pair of magnificent wrought iron gates, flanked with stone columns and topped with winged boars. Once inside they sat at the Gryffindor table and sat through the usual proceedings. The sorting seemed to fly by, and before long Dumbledore was stood at the head of the hall, rising to greet them all before the start-of-term feast. "To our newcomers," said Dumbledore in a ringing voice, his arms stretched wide and a beaming smile on his lips, "welcome! To our old hands, welcome back! There is a time for speech-making, but this is not it. Tuck in!".

There was an appreciative laugh and an outbreak of applause as Dumbledore sat down neatly and threw his long beard over his shoulder so as to keep it out of the way of his plate, for the food had appeared out of nowhere, so that the five long tables were groaning under joints and pies and dishes of vegetables, bread, sauces, and flagons of pumpkin juice. Just as Ines was about to dig in she noticed a glint out of the corner of her eye, Sirius' fork was held in front of her face. Honoring his usual tradition of hitting forks with James before they ate he turned to Ines to do the same. After a moment's hesitation, she put hers to his, gave him a sly smile and began her meal.

James was stood in front of the fireplace pacing back and forth, seated watching were Ines, Sirius, Remus, Lily, and Mary. He had been pacing for quite a while now, ever since a second-year boy came up to him asking when Quidditch trials would be. "Yeah, well, oh Merlin," He mumbled to himself "We need a new Keeper now that Gudgeon has left. Tryouts are on, uhm, Friday at five o'clock and I want the whole team there, all right? Then we can see how the new person'll fit in.". He turned to his audience, namely Sirius and Ines to see if they agreed. They were seated next to each other with their legs intertwined, and both nodded in agreement. This was the third plan he had come up with and at this point wanted him to just make a decision. James had asked, quite desperately, for Lily to write up a note declaring it as her handwriting was 'oh so perfect', to which she obliged.

Before they knew it Friday had arrived and Ines and Sirius found themselves sat in the stands watching James command the prospective Keepers to do various things. The rest of the team sat in the stands as well but mostly kept to themselves in different areas. Leaving Ines and Sirius to sit together and speak about whatever they wanted. They spoke as Sirius polished his broom with Fleetwood's High-Finish Handle Polish, ever since Ines had gotten him one for Christmas in their second year he used it religiously. Just as Sirius was about to ask if she wanted another of his Sugar Quills, a question he need not ask because she would most definitely say yes she leaned out of his grasp towards the entrance to the pitch.

"Merlin's beard," she muttered, "I can't believe what I'm seeing.". Sirius then also leaned forward and spotted the red-haired girl entering the pitch timidly. Ines shouted her name, and her head snapped up instantly. She smiled and waved, not expecting anyone to have seen her and cautiously turned back to the pitch. Sirius leaned back, laughing, Ines falling into the crook of his arm only moments after. "Unbelievable, after all the hours I spent listening to her complain about James for her to be on the pitch no doubt to watch him. Ridiculous, I know she'll deny it as well, say she was looking for some creature for Herbology. She loves him and she hates it … unbelievable"

Sirius' eyes flicker, out to the trees. But he's not looking at the leaves. His gaze is in the past, to something more painful "It's not something you can control, Ines," he replies, "We can't choose who we love. I wish, more than anything, that we could." Her skin still runs hot from his embrace, remembering the feel of him only moments ago. But in the deepest part of her, in spite of every fiber of her being, she thinks beyond the clearing, to starry eyes, and a kiss in an empty hallway. There were no boundaries holding James and Lily from being together, besides Lily's illogical resistance that Ines hoped would one day fade. She wished the same held true for her and Sirius.

Darren O'Hare walked past, having walked down the stands to greet his Ravenclaw friend to take him back up to his seat. He nodded at the two of them "Sirius, Ines," before sending a wink at Ines. She smiled and sent one back. Sirius knew it was friendly, but it didn't stop it from stinging. So much it hurt to look at her and because she was young, and so damn clever and amusing and wonderful, wherever she made her home, there would be some man who would fall in love with her and who would make her his wife, and that would be the worst truth of all. It had snuck up on him, this pain and terror and rage at the thought of anyone else with her. Every look, every word from her, he didn't even know when it had started because it had always been there. He knew that no matter where their lives led, she would be in his forever, whether in person or only in his mind. He thought of the night on the roof on New Years quite often. The night she said she wished she had another name, not one meant to fit the mold her parents wanted her to fill. The thought of her being that girl haunted him just as much as it did her, just the image haunted his dreams throughout the night: a lovely girl gazing at the stars, and the stars who gazed back. It haunted him because at that moment it was just the three of them, nobody was watching but the stars and there was nobody who could bother them. They existed alone at that moment. The kiss obliterated him. It was like coming home or being born or suddenly finding an entire half of himself. that had been missing

James called from the bottom of the stands up to them, pausing the trials for only a moment, "Oi, lovebirds! Get down here.". They untangled themselves from each other and walked down the steps to the pitch ignoring the laughs and giggles from their teammates and students trying out. Once they reached the middle of the pitch the group of kids had thinned from seventeen to only four. There was a; short yet stocky 6th year boy, a gangly 3nd year girl that made Ines question James' judgement, a blonde girl that Ines had seen Emmeline talk to a few times named Caelena, and a 7th year boy with hands so large they could probably fit around Ines' neck two times over. They were lined up in a row awaiting further instruction gripping their brooms tightly.

Once Ines and Sirius reached him he turned from the group and became very serious. "I've had Catriona and Darren shoot on them, and as wonderful as they are, and .. ehm… not to boast or anything, but I want to see how their fare with me shooting on them. So I'd like you to be my impartial judges, just fly around and don't interfere.". The two of them nodded and hopped on their brooms as James went to explain the proceedings to the group. The 6th year wasn't terrible but also wasn't fantastic, missing 3 of the 9 shots taken on him. The 3rd year's best quality was her exceptionally fast broom, but once she made it to the goal post James shot on she always fumbled, missing 5 of the 9 shots. Celaena and the 7th year boy had both done incredibly, who's name Ines learned to be Dorian, missing only one shot each. It came down to how they would fare with all three chasers shooting on them, and by a slim margin of two goals, Celaena ranked supreme and was their new Seeker.

Walking back up to the castle Ines thought about what Sirius had said, wishing that he could choose who he loved. She understood how he had meant for her to interpret it, and was saddened to know she felt the same way. Wishing they could turn off their feelings for each other, to still be with their families - regardless of how much they hated them-, and to be able to be with someone who they didn't have to hide their feelings for.


	29. Chapter Twenty Seven

Sitting in the back of the classroom next to Lily was an achievement in itself, Ines hardly ever convinced her to sit so far from the front of the room. The whole walk down from Gryffindor tower was filled with persistent arguments and purposeful steps. Once inside, Lily had agreed to sit in the back if Ines occupied James next Thursday as she had a Herbology exam to study for. One that Ines would never in her life study for as it would make no difference. No longer being required to sit next to Oberon was freeing, and she was going to take advantage of being able to sit where she pleased if it was the last thing she would do.

"Now then," said Slughorn, returning to the front of the class and inflating his already bulging chest so that the buttons on his waistcoat threatened to burst off, "I've prepared a few potions for you to have a look at, just out of interest, you know. These are the kind of thing you ought to be able to make after completing your N.E.W.T.s. You ought to have heard of 'em, even if you haven't made 'em yet. Anyone tell me what this one is?" He indicated the cauldron nearest the Slytherin table. Ines

raised herself slightly in her seat and saw what looked like plain water boiling away inside it. Lily's well-practiced hand hit the air before anybody else's; Slughorn pointed at her. "It's Veritaserum, a colorless, odorless potion that forces the drinker to tell the truth," said Lily. "Very good, very good!" said Slughorn happily. Ines rolled her eyes, playfully hitting Lily's leg under the table. She constantly took over the classroom, and Ines would always lovingly point it out to her.

"Now," he continued, pointing at the cauldron nearest the Ravenclaw table, "this one here is pretty well known, Featured in a few Ministry leaflets lately too, Who can — ?" Lily's hand was fastest once more. "It's Polyjuice Potion, sir," she said. "Excellent, excellent! Now, this one here..?" said Slughorn, now looking slightly bemused, as Remus' hand lifted in the air, beating Lily to the chase. "It's Amortentia" "It is indeed. It seems almost foolish to ask," said Slughorn, who was looking mightily impressed, "but I assume you know what it does?" "It's the most powerful love potion in the world," he said, seated next to Peter. "Quite right! You recognized it, I suppose, by its distinctive mother-of-pearl sheen?" "And the steam rising in characteristic spirals," said Remus, now enthusiastically, "and it's supposed to smell differently to each of us, according to what attracts us, and I can smell Jelly Slugs, Mandrakes, and —". But he turned slightly pink and did not complete the sentence. Ines smiled softly, Remus was always very secretive about his love life, and she was happy to know that there was at least someone he cared romantically for.

Slughorn nodded jovially and began walking up and down the rows as he explained the rest. "Amortentia doesn't really create love, of course. It is impossible to manufacture or imitate love. No, this will simply cause a powerful infatuation or obsession. It is probably the most dangerous and powerful potion in this room, oh yes," he said, nodding gravely at Mulciber and Bertha Jorkins, both of whom were smirking skeptically. "When you have seen as much of life as I have, you will not underestimate the power of obsessive love, and now," said Slughorn, "it is time for us to start work.".

Ines and Lily worked fantastically together, despite their occasional squabble their cheerful friendly conversation was fun enough to drown it out. The last step approached, to sprinkle rose thorns into the cauldron. Lily, having been told to by someone she wouldn't tell Ines, knew to drop in seventeen of them. While Lily ran to the storage closet to grab the remaining three that they were missing Ines walked over to the boy's table. They were on the final step as well, having dropped in a handful of rose thorns. Ines pulled up an empty chair and bid them hello. As the pearly smoke rose from the cauldron, Ines watched Sirius from through it. "What do you two smell?" she asked, meaning for it to be posed to both of them when it was quite clearly only for one of them. James piped up first, excitedly "I smell Butterbeer, new parchment, and … yeah, it's Lily." Ines stifled a laugh, noticing Lily stand up straight from their table out of the corner of her eye.

"What do you smell, Ines," Sirius asked, she could hardly withstand his stare but Merlin blessed her with the call of her name. Lily was muttering her name but failed her attempt at keeping it quiet. "We'll see," she replied, before putting the chair back and walking towards Lily. Once she arrived, Lily pulled her in closer, over the top of the cauldron. "What brand of hair gel is it that James uses again?" she asked desperately. "Sleekeazy's Hair Potion, his father's brand," Ines stated as if it was obvious. Lily's face flushed red, despite her stressed look, and sat back in the chair. "What do you smell," she asked, as if trying to ignore what it was she smelled. Ines sniffed, and the smells - so distinct- filled her nose. "I smell…" she looked over at the boy's table and Sirius was looking right back, "Fire Whiskey, Fleetwood's High-Finish Handle Polish, and … wet dog.". Ines sat back in her seat, processing what she had smelled. She was brought out of her thoughts by Slughorn's booming voice

"Ah Sirius, sugar quills, fire whiskey, and lilacs. Have you any idea how diverse the smell of a lilac is?". Ines looked down at her feet, listening to Slughorn's explanation. "Every color of lilac has a different smell, did you know that? White lilacs symbolize purity and innocence. Blue lilacs symbolize happiness and tranquility. Magenta lilacs symbolize love and passion. Lilac, the color for which this flower is named, is a light purple that symbolizes first love.". Silence filled the room, she felt eyes on her but the only ones she could bear to look at were Sirius'.


	30. Chapter Twenty Eight

Walking up the stairs in complete silence underneath the invisibility cloak wasn't very effective as Ines was fairly sure their legs were visible. Not that it mattered too much considering they could use the map. Nobody was nearby for a while, the closest person was a 7th year Hufflepuff prefect patrolling near the trophy room. She was exhausted from yesterday, staying up all night during the full moon. But, for the first time since Ines found out Remus' lycanthropy, she wasn't turning down a date the night of the full moon. A few months ago, the thought would have been upsetting and made her worried about her reputation. But it didn't bother her anymore, not that her reputation mattered a great deal to her anyway. She was always very conscious of the public perception of her, and while she never took action to change or alter it, she wanted to be liked. The feeling of being appreciated for who she truly was, while living with a family that wouldn't, was a breath of fresh air.

She liked to believe that being very promiscuous was a conscious and just choice that she made with no driving forces, but it just wasn't the truth. There was nothing wrong with being as sexually adventurous as was, she just wished she had done it with better intentions. She knew she could use it to get what she wanted, while also enjoying it. In losing her virginity, she unlocked a new advantage against people. It was at the end of her third year, with a 4th year Hufflepuff boy named William Glencoe in his dorm room during dinner. He had been very kind to her throughout, and it wasn't something she particularly regretted. What she did regret was what she did afterward, she then got with four William's housemates, and a Ravenclaw. From then on, students knew who she was and what she would be willing to do with them. She perceived it as being liked, something she was so desperate to achieve when it really wasn't.

But she hadn't been that girl in a long time, not since she kissed Gavin solely for Sirius to see. Now she was up against him, back to front. They had gone down to the kitchens and eaten a few slices of cake that they had had during dinner. Walking up, she looked down at the map in Sirius' hands, she spotted Filch. He was making his way past the fourth-floor corridor at a snail's pace, with Miss. Norris trotting along a few feet ahead of him. Ines paused, stopping Sirius pace and bringing him closer to her. She pointed to the closer moving spot and he let out a sigh. It was more of an exhausted sigh than anything, a small interference such as this was nothing to them anymore. Sneaking in and out of places was a skill that Ines had mastered at a young age. All her life, people had been trying to keep her inside places she didn't want to be, or out of places she needed to get into.

They slipped onto the landing in front of the door to the fourth-floor corridor. They sunk to the ground in the corner of the landing to hide their feet and watched as Filch got closer and closer. First Miss. Norris slunk out of the door and began trotting down the steps. The second Ines saw Filch's feet, an idea popped into her head. She began patting around her person for her wand, mistakenly touching Sirius as well. Once she found it she pointed it to the staircase and muttered an incantation that she had read just the other night. Although it wasn't blatantly obvious, it was there. The step that Filch was about to trod on was only visibly there, and the mirage-like glow over it indicated that it actually wasn't. "A trick step," Sirius murmured, barely audible to those who weren't pressed right up against him as Ines was "you bloody maniac, I love it". She smiled softly, as they watched Filch's right foot plummet downwards, the only thing stopping him from falling all the way down to the lower, now moving, staircase being his other leg still on the step behind him. He yelled in anger, screaming about 'blasted children' and 'bloody Peeves' until he was able to hoist himself out from the hole and walked onwards.

The second the door to the 3rd-floor corridor shut with him and Miss. Norris behind it Ines and Sirius burst out in laughter. They toppled onto each other, the invisibility cloak falling off of them. Once their laughter died down they found themselves in a very compromising situation. Ines was sat on Sirius' chest, leaning over his face, while his hands were gripping her waist. "Are you planning to kiss me?' Sirius asked, trying to sound suave but the quiver in his voice countered it. "No," Ines said, wrinkling her nose, but not moving away. "Then why are you so close?' Sirius' tone was perfect innocence.". They paused for only a moment before Ines got off of him and began walking down the steps to inspect her work. Leaning against the railing to keep her stable, she dipped her foot in and out of the 'step', in awe of her magic.

Sirius joined her after a few seconds, "Quite a good spell, what's the counter?". Ines paused, "I haven't the slightest idea," she muttered, the realization only now hitting her. They burst into laughter again, Sirius gripping the railing now. "It'd be quite fun don't you think, a landmark trick step, keep it for future generations," Sirius said through laughter. Ines nodded, liking the idea very much. She looked up at him, his face very close to hers again. He lifted one of his hands and brushed her cheek. She almost gave in, she almost lifted her face to his, and she really wanted to. But she pulled back, staring ahead of her. "We are nothing more than distractions for each other, and distractions get you killed. All you can tell me is that if anything happens, we'll go to hell or whatever there is" But her hands close over his, their fingers lacing until their bones were woven together. It was a consistent theme with them now, saying what they feel like they should but doing something else. He shifted his arm so he could brush her hair back. His fingers lingered along her jaw. He cupped her cheek, and took a steadying breath, as if he'd thought about every word these past sixteen years of his life, over and over again. "We're not going to hell, Ines," he said. "But wherever we go, we'll go together."


	31. Chapter Twenty Nine

Ines, to her regret, spent much longer in the common room than she wanted to. The cause of her regret being her lack of resilience towards Sirius. He and James had gotten into a competition to see who out of the two of them could resist hiccuping after eating a package of Hiccup Sweets from Zonko's joke shop. An hour later they reluctantly left the sunlit common room for the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom four floors below. Lily was already queuing outside, carrying an armful of heavy books and looking put-upon. "I got so much homework for Runes," she said anxiously, when Ines joined her, having had a class during Ines' and the boy's free block. "A fifteen-inch essay, two translations, and I've got to read these by Wednesday!". "Shame," yawned Ines. "You wait," she said resentfully. "I bet Merrythought gives us loads.". At the sound of her name, the door swung open and the kids filed in. But, instead of the rows of desks, they were greeted by an empty space. Once all inside, Merrythought began her dramatic introduction.

"The Dark Arts, are many, varied, ever-changing, and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before. You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating, indestructible. Your defenses must, therefore, be as flexible and inventive as the arts you seek to undo. These pictures" — she indicated a few of them as she swept past — "give a fair representation of what happens to those who suffer, for instance, the Cruciatus Curse" — she waved a hand toward a witch who was clearly shrieking in agony — "feel the Dementor's Kiss" — a wizard lying huddled and blank-eyed, slumped against a wall — "or provoke the aggression of the Inferius" — a bloody mass upon the ground. The majority of the class quivered in fear. "You are all, I believe, complete novices in the use of nonverbal spells. What is the advantage of a nonverbal spell?"

Lily's hand shot into the air, sticking out as she stands from the front of the crowd. Throughout Merrythoughts explanation Ines had slinked towards the back of the crowd, going to stand with the rest of the girls. Dorcas was incredibly excited for this lesson and had been awaiting it all year as she believed she would be incredibly good at it. Believing her immense focus on divination and using her mind for magic would give her top marks.

"Your adversary has no warning about what kind of magic you're about to perform, which gives you a split-second advantage." Lily's answer was most likely verbatim from the textbook but Merrythought took it anyways. "Yes, those who progress to using magic without shouting incantations gain an element of surprise in their spell-casting. Not all wizards can do this, of course; it is a question of concentration and mind power which some lack.". Emmeline practically snorted at the sentiment, very confident in her abilities. "You will now divide," Merrythought went on, "into pairs. One partner will attempt to jinx the other without speaking. The other will attempt to repel the jinx in equal silence. Carry on."

Dorcas grabbed Ines' hand, pulling her towards her, "I know you're one of the best at jinxes, so if I can beat you I can beat just about anyone." Ines looked at her, eyes wide "I'm not so sure about that.". Dorcas rolled her eyes as if it was a joke, "Oh please, I saw you jinx those Slytherin boys in the corridor yesterday for trying to gang up on Remus". Ines smiled discreetly, thinking nobody had seen that. Remus bag had ripped open and in the process of picking up all his papers, a group of about four 7th year Slytherin goons had crowded around him, teasing him for his tattered bag and scarred face.

Ten minutes into the lesson Dorcas, who was supposed to be jinxing Ines, was purple in the face, her lips tightly compressed to save herself from the temptation of muttering the incantation. Ines had her wand raised, waiting on tenterhooks to repel a jinx that seemed unlikely ever to come. Despite Dorcas' immense amount of confidence, she wasn't as good at the lesson as she thought. Just when Ines spotted Dorcs spit out a jinx she repelled it, but instead of stopping it, it ricochets right back to Dorcas, which was not her intention. Dorcas staggered backward, falling slightly, before lifting her face up to reveal a nasty boil on her forehead. Merrythought scurried over at the sound of a gasp from Peter and Remus next to them and immediately took Dorcas by the shoulders, "Dear Merlin! Miss Meadows were you hardly even trying? Or, Miss. Avery was you too brutal! Either way, Miss. Vance, off to the infirmary.". Dorcas walked out, holding her hand over her boil. Once Merrythought walked away, Ines looked around surveying the other groups. Mary and Emmeline, Marlene and Geoffrey Hooper, Peter and Remus, and - surprisingly - James and Lily. They were both equally minorly scuffed up, with offset ties, Lily with purple hair, and James with broken glasses.

Then the realization hit her just as it stepped in front of her. Sirius, with his hands in his pocket, "I was working with Marlene and Geoffrey but, looks like you're free now. Hope you don't ruin my perfect face like you did Dorcas'.". The two of them backed up, wands at the ready and in a dueling stance. "I hardly even touched Dorcas, she was convinced she would ace this assignment with her infinite brain power, thanks to divination. I've no clue what Babblings done to that poor girl, probably told her that she could repel jinxes using the power of the moon.". They both chuckled, still stalking each other in a circle as if they were dueling. "What was that crockpot thing she told you in the fourth year? I remember we probably laughed for at least the whole rest of the class." Ines remembered it exactly, it had always strangely stuck to her. "She said that I would one day experience something that 'inspires stars to climb into the sky and light up the world'. How she got that from the crystal ball, I can't even imagine.".

As Sirius threw his head back to laugh Ines hit him with a momentary Jelly-Legs Jinx. He snapped his head back up, meeting her challenging and playful stare with an equally as powerful one. They paced for a few seconds more, a sinister grin forming on both their faces. He blocked her attempt at another Jelly-Legs Jinx and she blocked his Impediment Jinx. They parred, slowly coming closer and closer to meet each other in the center, Ines giggled "Get ready to kiss the cold floor". Sirius smile turned into a mischievous grin. "You're one to laugh. You moan about the cold floor more than anyone else that I know." She straightened as the students around them gave hesitant smiles, unsure if they were serious. "If I recall correctly, you complain about every time I wipe the floor with you when we duel.". "Oho!" James cried, and Sirius' brows rose higher. Ines gave him a grin. "Dangerous words," Sirius said.

Ines hit him with a Trip Jinx, the only indication she was doing a thing being her grin growing wider. Sirius hit the floor, and surrounding students paused to laugh. The smart ones either didn't laugh at Sirius and stifled it or used the opportunity to jinx their distracted partners. Ines held out her hand to help him up, which he took gladly. Their hands were in each other for quite a while, before she slipped his fingers from his. The feeling of his touch leaving her ran through her like a storm.


	32. Chapter Thirty

The cheering of the crowd was something that fueled the Gryffindor Quidditch team. James could hardly get out his speech, one that he had been working on ever since the game schedule was released, due to his excitement. With every time the crowd cheered 'Gryffindor', their nerves decreased. This was Celaena's first game as Keeper, and she had been training vehemently for the past few weeks. Ines gripped her around the shoulders, shaking her in excitement. She giggled along with them, James had now stood upon the locker room bench to try at a speech one last time. Darren slammed on the nearby wall getting everyone's attention, and once James gave him an approving nod he started on his speech.

"Alright!" he yelled, sticking his hand out to grab Sirius' outstretched one. "This game is going to be difficult, there's no doubt about it. We've all seen Hufflepuff training harder this year, they've gotten stronger, but do not be afraid. Don't be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart. Believe in yourself. You are all braver than you think, more talented than you know, and capable of more than you imagine. Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying." He ended on a high note as his voice gradually became louder as he spoke. Until he stopped, stooping low and gripping Sirius' hand even tighter not. "Now lets fucking win this thing" he muttered. The team broke out in cheers and ran to the open door leading to the field.

Ines hopped on her broom and flew out into the bright light. Sirius alongside her they did a few laps around the perimeter of the field, basking in the cheers, before heading back to the center. Ines spotted from across the field, Hufflepuff captain William Glencoe staring at her. He looked her up and down and gave her an angry look. Flying closer, she was able to make out his features better. He wasn't horrible looking, his high set cheekbones were something that Ines often found his girlfriend Annika doting on. Ines had a fairly tumultuous relationship with Annika, as she had a few run-ins in broom closets with William while unaware that Annika had staked a claim on him. He flew above her, towards the center of the field, still watching her. Once he made it, James shook hands with the new Hufflepuff captain, and Madame Hooch blew the whistle to set the game into motion. Gripping her bat tightly, Ines flew past the Hufflepuff seeker and upwards. From her birds-eye view of the field, she was able to see everything, Hufflepuff had quite evidently been working harder as they were much more aggressive than Ines had ever seen them. The Bludgers were being quite easy on them this game it seemed, circling slowly on the outer rings of the action. Ines watched Celaena, following the tips that she had been given to the tee and doing a wonderful job. She watched as Celeana stretched and stopped a goal, sending the crowd into a wave of cheers.

She heard a call, her name, and looked down to find Sirius winding up to knock a bludger towards her. She flew back, preparing for it. It was almost as if she didn't need to think, the second she heard the crack of his bat, she winded up to prepare for her shot. She found her target immediately, captain William Glencoe, a beater as well. He was currently aimlessly flying, while also seemingly having a tense yet silent conversation with someone in the stands. Ines seized the opportunity and put all her might into her bat and swung. The bludger went flying down the field, right by his face. He was knocked almost completely off his broom, saved only by the fact that he was very close to it. Ines yelled in glee, spinning on her broom, along with the crowd. But all she cared for was the cheers from below her. She looked down to find Sirius looking right back up at her. His face was overcome with joy and his smile was bright.

Ines was so lost in him, in his face and his eyes filled with stars. So lost that she didn't spot the bludger coming right for her. It came at her so fast she didn't have time to swerve or avoid it. It whizzed by, knocking her hard in the shoulder. The stadium watched as Ines Avery fell to the bottom of the pitch.

—

The bright lights of the hospital wing were practically unbearable. From what Ines could see through her squinting and fluttering eyes, she was placed in the back left corner and it was relatively empty. The beds weren't very comfortable either, she grunted, trying to free her arms from some indiscernible force. When her eyes finally adjusted, she felt the presence next to her. She practically jumped out of her skin when she saw Sirius next to her, the commotion awoke him as well.

"How long was I asleep?" she whispered. He didn't respond. "How long was I asleep?" she asked again and noticed a hint of red in his cheeks. "You were asleep, too?". "Until you began drooling on my shoulder." They giggled, noticing their closely intertwined bodies and chose to ignore it. Ines rubbed her temples, still recovering from what she assumed was an incredibly hard fall. "It's only been a few hours, haven't gotten the chance to change yet." Ines only now noticed his still muddy quidditch uniform. "Did we win?" Ines asked, turning to face him better. He ran a hand through his hair, the question obviously plagued him. "I haven't the slightest idea after you hit the ground me and McGonagall raced you up to the hospital wing, and I've been here since." Ines' face softened at his look, he was avoiding her gaze. She reached up and rubbed his arm up and down lovingly. "Why on earth would you do that, you needn't stay with me. Or sleep in my bed." He chuckled at her final remark.

"First of all, I would never turn down that opportunity. Second, what else am I to do? How am I supposed to single-handedly lead our team victory without my partner?". Ines laughed at his pompous tone but stopped when it began to hurt her ribs. The sound of heels hitting the floorboards quickly approached and Sirius slid from his space beside her to the chair. He leaned into the most convincing looking relaxed position when Madame Pomfrey dragged the curtain open with vigor. She assessed Ines, making note of Sirius nearby and their equally red cheeks before setting down another glass. "A bit more skelegrow, mixed with some pain reliever and your bones should be alright and back in the correct places. A night here … alone … getting some rest and you'll be out by tomorrow.". She placed the glass in Ines' hand, gave Sirius another look, and strode out, closing the curtain behind her.

Ines and Sirius waited a moment before letting out their stifled laughter, both not acknowledging the fact that Madame Pomfrey knew that Sirius had been in her bed, or that he had been there at all. He leaned forward in his chair, resting his arms on her bed. Ines learned down to face him, so close they shared their breath. He pulled her close, kissing her mouth, taking her by surprise. He stepped back passion smoldering in his eyes. She looked at him touching her mouth where his kiss still burned. "I'm glad you're ok," he said, trying to use his suave to hide his genuine and deep concern for her well being. She smiled, gazing into his eyes. She was so lost in them she hardly heard the door open, and all the bustle that followed it. Ines and Sirius sprint apart at the unmistakable sound of their team entering. Ines watched as Sirius stood and poked his head through the curtain, and his eyes brighten and his smile reach his ears. Catriona threw open the curtain to reveal James and Darren carrying a flustered but excited looking Celaena on their shoulders. Catriona threw her arms around Sirius, "We won! We did it! Celaena absolutely dominated! Not a single Quaffle went through her hoops!" She shook his shoulders, running over to sit by Ines. "Merlin's beard Ines, look at you! A few hours ago your arms and legs were so crazy you could have touched your elbows to your toes! Madame Pomfrey truly is magical!" Ines chuckled "I would hope she is" Catriona got up, grabbing a now considerably frazzled Celaena off of the boys' shoulders. James moved around them to take Catroinas spot on her bed. "I'm glad your feeling better, the girls are all commiserating in the common room. Lily's a right mess." Ines winked in response to his blush at the mention of Lily's name "A cute mess I bet.". James nodded enthusiastically in response, before him and the rest of the team jumped into a full-blown play by play explanation of the rest of the game. All the while, with the much-appreciated discretion of the team, Sirius held Ines' hand in his own.


	33. Chapter Thirty One

Ines found herself in the library, in the weeks after her release from the hospital wing she had found herself surrounded by more people. She was told by a few people that the sight of her at the bottom of the pitch with her limbs arranged incorrectly was a difficult sight to bear. In the library, she sat with Lily, Marlene, Benjy Fenwick who's New Year's party they religiously attended, his friend Owen Caudwell, and Emmeline. They sat with the intention of working on their Herbology essay but ended up deliberating the outcomes of the upcoming Slug Club dinner. Benjy had placed a five Knut bet that Slughorn would get so drunk he'd tell the story about his time setting the Snitch free at the Holyhead Harpies game thirty years ago yet again. "I'm not so sure" Owen whisper yelled, "I don't think he could go a night without talking about Ines and Oberon being twins, like they need another reminder."

Owen was a kind boy and, similarly to herself, he had a brother he didn't get along well with. Owen had lost his mother, a muggle, a few years before he started Hogwarts. His father, pureblood, remarried a few months before school to a pureblood woman who already had a son. His name was Luis, and he looked down upon Owen and his family, especially because he was half-blood. While Owen was placed in Hufflepuff, Luis was sorted into Ravenclaw, saving Owen from having to see him too often, something Owen was grateful for. For that reason Ines understood that in bringing up Oberon, it was not out of malice or to rile her up, he knew that he wouldn't appreciate the same treatment and never dealt it out.

Ines put up the best smile that she could, ignoring the surrounding group's apprehensive manner at Owens comment. "Either that, or he'll tell the story about when he walked into the Puddlemere United locker room thinking it was the loo.". Their laughs eased the discomfort from the mention of Oberon. He and his group of friends often incited discomfort in being brought up, and if not discomfort then anger. It was no secret, as much as Ines tried to avoid thinking about, that they were intertwined with things of a dark nature.

As Emmeline struck up a conversation with some gossip Marlene had told her about the young hospital wing attendant Madame Pomfrey, Ines watched as Lily became increasingly frustrated as she flitted through her bag. "What's wrong?" Ines asked Lily looked up at her in frustration. "I forgot my potions notes back in our dorm." She said, upset at her mistake. Ines made to go stand, packing up her stuff. "No problem, let's go grab it, I'll join you." The girls bid their goodbyes to Owen, Benjy, and Emmeline before walking out. In the halls they passed a group of Ravenclaw 5th years huddling around the most recent issue of the Daily Prophet, mumbling back and forth to each other.

Walking up the stairs, they found that the stairway had turned them away from their intended destination on the 7th floor but the 4th floor. Lily sucked in a breath, never having liked the stairs' tendencies to do so. "At least we didn't step onto the one with the trick step." She muttered, stepping off and into the hall. Ines concealed her smile, lamenting on that night with Sirius. Walking down the hall, headed towards an alternate staircase that would lead them to the 6th floor they heard voices. Typically this wouldn't bother either of them. But, when the voices they could both recognize in a heartbeat were made clearer through the bustle it struck them. Rounding the corner ahead of them was Severus, Oberon, Regulus, Mulciber, Evan Rosier, and Bertha Jorkins. Evan and Bertha were clinging to each other, feeding into the rumors of them being sexually involved as of late. Oberon, towering over Regulus, and spoke to him with a wide grin on his face, hardly paying attention to the fact that both Severus and Mulciber were even included in the conversation. Ines and Lily grabbed each other's hand and made to speed away from them. They were in no way scared but preferred to stay away from them by all means necessary.

Their quick movement caught the attention of the Slytherin group and they all paused. Mulciber stepped forward, blocking the girls' paths. "What are the two of you up to?" he asked, sneering. Ines gripped Lily's hand even tighter, "Nothing that concerns you, now if you would let us be on our way." She stared at Oberon, waiting for him to do something, anything. Still hoping that for some foolish reason he would be her brother again one day. She even looked to Regulus, wishing for her refusal to marrying him made him the least bit thankful and felt a debt to her. But neither of them cared. Severus, on the other hand, was gazing at Lily while she only looked at him with contempt.

Mulciber gripped Ines' arm, noticing that she had been reaching for her wand. "I'm not scared of you," she muttered, "not of you, or your lackies". She spat her last word, staring back at Oberon as she did so. He gripped her even tighter, Rosier now coming even closer but in Lily's direction. "Maybe you should be, these castle walls cannot protect you forever. Soon, all of us will be ser-". Before he could finish his sentence his wand was knocked from his hand, one that was incredibly close to her neck. Ines and Lily turned towards the source of the spell. James stood at the lead, his wand out and pointed at Mulciber. Sirius, Remus, and Peter only just now rounding the corner. Lily took their moment of distraction to pull Ines from Mulcibers grip and to the wall of the hallway.

Evan reached for Lily and James shot another spell at him, causing him to stagger back from him. The group of Slytherins quickly formed together, standing as one. The boys moved closer to Ines and Lily, who in turn moved closer to them. The tension in the hallway was so thick it could be cut with a knife. They all knew the risks of doing what they truly wanted, in dueling like there was no tomorrow, and decided against starting it. Instead, they all stood with their wants outstretched, kids with a reach into the treachery of their parents so deep it sometimes became unbearable, thinking of the harm they could do to each other. Just when the tension became seemingly unbearable, a shadow grew larger at the end of the hall, meaning someone was coming. Remus spotted it first, pulling his wand down along with the boys'. The rest of them soon understood the memo and put theirs down as well.

Slughorn rounded the corner to a strange sight, his confusion was evident on his face. A group of twelve students all looking very angry and ready to strike, facing each other in a fourth-floor hallway. "Ah, how are you all," He said, breaking the tension of his stare "I was just on my way to find some of you all, I have, ehm, something to deliver.". He walked through the middle of the two groups and Ines spotted Slug Club invitations for this weekend in his hand. "One for Miss Evans," he passed Lily hers, which she took with the brightest smile she could feign. "Ah! The Avery twins," he handed Ines her invitation which she took from him without even looking down at it, she was too busy staring down Mulciber. "One for Mr. Lupin, Mr. Snape, Mr. Black, ehm, Regulus" Sirius wasn't confused by the mistake in name, knowing there was no way he would be getting an invite over his brother and watched as Regulus took his eagerly. "I'm well excited for you all to come, ehm, bring whomever it is you'd like, the more the merrier!" With his final words, he scurried off down the hall, leaving the kids back where they were before. Neither group of kids had the gall to even try and harm the other and left it at that. Peter tried to grab at Remus to get him to leave, which he obliged, along with Evan and Bertha. Severus took one look at Lily and she stormed off, quickly followed by James and Severus left with Mulciber. Ines turned to Sirius, "How did that all come together?" he took a second to glance at Regulus and Oberon who were moving to walk away. "We were headed towards the Hufflepuff common room so Peter could talk to some girl and heard Mulciber,".

She nodded, and before she got the chance to respond she heard her name. Recognizing the voice immediately she turned on her heel and snapped back; "What!". Oberon didn't at all look surprised at her reaction and only held out his invitation. Looking down at her own for the first time she realized it bore his name and not hers, a simple mix up. Ines calmed down in the slightest and took it from his hand and gave him his. The two of them could hardly stand a second more of interaction and grabbed the hands of the Black boys' whom they cared for deeply in unison and walked off. Once they rounded the hall and made their way back to the staircase, still hand in hand, Ines leaned against the rail. "Come with me? To Slughorn's party? I suspect Regulus to be there as well so I don't blame you for not wanting to come.". He squeezed her hand tighter, "It's no problem, I wouldn't miss it.".

_Hi! I'm a bit unsure if anyone will end up reading this note or care to but I'm going to add it in any way. Not that I really __**have**__ to explain myself, or any __**need**__ to at all as I don't owe anyone reading this anything but I want to anyways. _

_1\. I'm so unbelievably happy people are reading this story, I can't even express it. As of the way I have planned the rest of this book and the chapters it contains, the midway point is chapter 33! meaning I'm almost halfway done which is mind-blowing._

_2\. The real reason I'm writing this and have avoided talking about is my lack of updating. I use to update this story like every week-ish and I don't anymore. Especially as of late when I didn't update for almost a month. To put it simply and vaguely; life is hard at the moment, but if you want to help (obviously not directly) you can donate to the ABTA (American Brain Tumour Association). That's all I'll say about that. _

_3\. Back to the much happier stuff, I absolutely adore Oberon and Regulus, I have so many little details and stories about the two of them planned out with nowhere to put them so I'm thinking once I finish this story (Or I get impatient and do it beforehand) I would publish a short story about the two of them, the moments I've created, and a better look into their lives and relationship. I have many things planned for them (hint: chapter 57!)_

_4\. Once again, thank you and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!_


	34. Chapter Thirty Two

The gown Ines decided on wearing was simple yet beautiful, a delicate sheath of white overlaid with silvery gauze. The neckline swooped dramatically low, while the sleeves were nothing more than transparent bands of silver lace. Putting one last pin into her hair she glanced over at Lily. The blue gown she'd chosen was the color of the ocean, the rippling watered silk seeming to subtly change from blue to white to nearly purple in different lights. Not exactly festive, contrasting the themes of Christmas that filled the castle.

To everyone's surprise, Lily had asked James to accompany her to Slughorns. She had asked him in the common room the day before, Ines having missed it by mere seconds only saw Lily run up the stairs she had just descended with a blush and a wide smile. As well as James, practically frozen in his seat, while Sirius and Remus smiled and laughed at him. Sirius had ran up to her, "She's finally done it, she's asked to spend time with him on her own free will and all he can respond with is 'alright'." Ines had laughed with them for a few minutes, trying to shake James out of his stupor before running back up to her dormitory. When she entered Lily was rummaging through her trunk, looking for the dress, and turned to her only to say "Don't say a word." before turning back to her trunk, the blush yet again on her cheeks.

Ines was correct in thinking that when she went down to the common room to find Sirius, James would be exploding with anticipation. Sirius came to the doorway and surveyed her leisurely. "Merlin's beard Ines," he murmured. "Shut it!" she spat back playfully before grabbing his arm. She pulled him to the door, receiving a few glances from surrounding students. James' gaze was set on nothing else but Lily, who had just stepped through the doorway from the stairwell. The two stopped for only a moment to admire their friends, having found friendship in each other, before setting off to the party. As the full moon was soon approaching, Remus stayed behind to rest to both his friends and Slughorn's dismay.

Still arm in arm the two of them paraded through the halls. Ines slowed suddenly, bringing Sirius with her to her slower pace. "I nearly forgot," she muttered, digging into the hidden pocket in the side of the dress. She pulled out the necklace Sirius had gifted her last Christmas, surrounding the charm was a garland of sparkling flowers, lilacs, her favorite. She handed it to him, "put it on for me?". He took a moment, gazing into her eyes before arranging it in his hands as she turned to face the other way. "I thought I noticed something different," he muttered from behind Ines and fastened it gently around her neck. The cold weight of the charms and the warm brush of his fingers at her nape elicited a shiver. He remained behind her, his hands settling lightly on the curves of her neck, moving in a warm stroke to the tops of her shoulders. "Lovely," he murmured. "Although nothing is as beautiful as your bare skin.". She whirled back around to face him, her face dangerously close to his considering they were in public. Before he could lean in any further she grabbed his shoulder and pushed him away and forward, trying her best yet failing at hiding her smile. His laughter bounced through the empty corridor, one of Ines' favorite sounds.

The music from Slughorn's party could be heard from a ways down the hall. Ines and Sirius' hold up had caused James and Lily to catch up with them and they all walked in together. This party was much more informal than last years Christmas party had been. A large dining table had been obstructed, beside it was a large buffet table by which people were milling about. Many students had already arrived, a few Hufflepuffs spoke with Slughorn who already had a drink clutched in his hand.

Ines, still arm in arm with Sirius, immediately spotted Oberon. He was standing next to Regulus which was no surprise to anyone. But something was different in him, he was standing closer to him than usual and seemed much more relaxed. Despite or hatred, or whatever it may be, that she had for her brother she couldn't help but smile at the sight of him. Slughorn being on the opposite side of the room allowed the four of them to be able to enjoy themselves for a while without being bombarded with invasive questions and took the opportunity to stroll around his office. Walking close to his desk Ines and Sirius stopped at his shelves of photos. There was a photo of him and the Holyhead Harpies, him and what seemed to be his family, and then multiple past slug club photos. Ines gazed at them all, noticing that the higher up on the shelves they went the older they were. It wasn't until her gaze reached the top of the highest shelf, on the second to last photo. The eyes that gazed down at hers were too hard to miss, as they were her own.

Arthur Avery was never a kind man, and Ines was glad to say that she only knew her grandfather for a short amount of time. He died when Ines and Oberon were seven, and it was hard to discern if her father even mourned him. Ines, ignoring Sirius' confused look, reached up and grabbed the photo to get a better look at it. In the photo he was clearly in his last year of Hogwarts, standing besides students of a similar age, all surrounding a much younger looking Slughorn. She recognized the man next to him to be the recently deceased Nott man, but the man on his opposite side was someone Ines had never seen before. His skin was milky white, contrasting his perfectly manicured dark hair. His smile wasn't much of a smile at all and more of a smirk. As if he knew something, and nothing pleasant.

Suddenly, a movement and the sound of a door slamming open from a bit further in the room caught her eye. A man stood in the doorway, leaning upon a long staff, shrouded in a black traveling cloak. He lowered his hood, shook out a long mane of grizzled, dark gray hair, then began to walk up towards Ines. It looked as though his face had been carved out of weathered wood by someone who had only the vaguest idea of what human faces are supposed to look like, and was none too skilled with a chisel. Every inch of skin seemed to be scarred. The mouth looked like a diagonal gash, and a large chunk of the nose was missing. But it was the man's eyes that made him frightening. One of them was small, dark, and beady. The other was large, round as a coin, and a vivid, electric blue. The blue eye was moving ceaselessly, without blinking, and was rolling up, down, and from side to side, quite independently of the normal eye, and then it rolled right over, pointing into the back of the man's head so that all she could see was whiteness.

He stopped in front of Ines, who had instinctively backed into Sirius. "What is it that you know about the men in this picture?". His voice matched his appearance and demeanor as exactly as Ines had thought it would. She stammered for only a second before muttering her answer. "My grandfather is in this photo, he's third to last in the back row." Her voice slowly got softer as she spoke, as the man got closer and closer. His bright blue eye scoured the photo for what seemed to be fifty times before he looked up at her. "You're Victor Avery's daughter, aren't you." She nodded. "And your brother is the boy right over there.". His eye flew backward, so Ines could only see the white of it. Indeed, behind him making his way to a seat at the table was Oberon. She nodded again. The eye landed back on her again, flitting up to Sirius behind her and back down to her.

"Why isn't your father here?". Ines shrugged, "I wouldn't know, I haven't spoken to him since winter break. My brother would know.". He looked her up and down, "What house are you in?". Ines briefly looked up at Sirius, and he gave her a nod of reassurance. "Gryffindor, we both are.". He took one more second to look at them both before straightening up and taking a step back. As if he knew it was coming, Slughorn popped up next to him. "Alastor Moody! It is so very good to see you, I see you have met Miss Avery and Mr. Black. What wonderful students they both are.". He nodded, his blue eye still fleeting about.

"Why Ines," Slughorn exclaimed, "Was it not you who expressed interest in being an Auror? Alastor here is one of the best our ministry has!". Ines nodded, flinching a bit as Alastors piercing gaze was back on her. "We can discuss it over our meal, I should have called it a few minutes ago," Slughorn muttered before transfiguring his glass into a dinner bell. Alastor gripped her arm before she could take a step away, "You've got a good head on your shoulders, send me a letter when you get out of school and we can talk about you being an Auror.".He then strode off sat down, shook his mane of dark gray hair out of his face, pulled a plate of sausages toward him, raised it to what was left of his nose, and sniffed it. He then took a small knife out of his pocket, speared a sausage on the end of it, and began to eat. His normal eye was fixed upon the sausages, but the blue eye was still darting around restlessly around in its socket, taking in the students.

Sirius and Ines made their way a few seats down the table to sit by Lily and James who were speaking surprisingly civilly. James leaned over Lily to look at the two of them, "What in bloody hell was that?". Ines ran her fingers through her hair, in an attempt to calm herself down. "Alastor Moody, an Auror, asked me about my family a bit.". Sirius leaned forward to look at James better, "That's not even the best part, said she had a good head on her shoulders and asked to send him a letter when she gets out of here about being an Auror.". Lily gripped Ines arm in excitement, "Ines that's wonderful!". Ines tried to stifle her smile in the slightest and shushed her playfully before turning back to her meal. She tried not to get her hopes up about anything, and with the inevitability of the future, she didn't know how much further she could even think. The dark thoughts swirling in her mind were drowned out by a hand on her thigh, not in any sort of sexual way, just a firm grip on her. A grip that tethered her and that stayed there the whole meal.


	35. Chapter Thirty Three

Leaving the castle for winter holiday that evening, Ines noticed Oberon was not among the crowd of students making their way down to the train. Then, looking later on the platform she didn't see either of her parents or Pippy. She didn't bring it up to the boys until they returned back to James' house. They had had a wonderful dinner, courtesy of James' house-elf, and retired to James' room. Despite having been in it many times before, the state of James' room always made Ines laugh. It was exactly as would be expected from a boy like James. Quidditch posters and Gryffindor themed items covered every square inch of the room. Ines, for example, found herself lying on a velvet red loveseat situated at the end of James' bed, which James was lying on, while Sirius was sat on another velvet seat adjacent to Ines' in gold.

"Did any of you see Oberon anywhere? I didn't see him at the station or on the train?". The boys looked up at each other, both confirming that neither of them had seen Oberon before Sirius turned to her and shook his head. "Why?" he asked "Looking forward to exchanging gifts?". She shot him a look while understanding that he was only joking. "It's just strange is all, for him to not go home for a break. The fact that my parents allowed it, it's even stranger.". There was a moment of silence in which they all considered what it was Oberon was still doing at the castle when none of the outcomes they thought of were in any way positive, they dropped the topic. Sirius took advantage of the fact that James was lying on the bed looking up at the ceiling to reach over to Ines and pull her from her seat to his. Her legs were up on top of him while he stroked her hand with his thumb lovingly. She was glad that he understood the mixed feeling she had when it came to Oberon. She hated him desperately, but they would always be twins and will always share a bond. It wasn't easy to admit, or to say out loud, how hard it was for her to stop caring about him.

James sat up suddenly, narrowly missing the two of them pulling their hands apart, and being oblivious to the tension in the room announced that he was going to the loo to brush his teeth before bed. Ines and Sirius stayed in the same position for only a moment's longer before Ines moved her body away from his and stood up, "I should probably do the same." She whispered. He stood up as well, moving towards the door and opening it for her. They walked out into the hall, Ines moving towards her door adjacent from James and Sirius down the left side. Before she slipped inside her room, she turned back to him and smiled to which he reciprocated.

A year ago today, they weren't sharing this same. A year ago they had both been in their respective homes, doing last-minute preparations to their outfits for the Malfoy wedding. Ines had been sitting in her newly decorated room, brushing her hair at her vanity, while her silver and lilac hued gown was hung up on her closet door behind her. She was not yet wearing the necklace she currently wore, the one given to her last Christmas, and she had not yet kissed Sirius. She had not yet been told of her arranged marriage to Regulus and her brother still dreamt of the possibility of the two of them one day being together. She still had not come to terms with her feelings, the ones that scared her still to this day. The feelings that would bring her to tears, and rip her from her family permanently. The feelings that would forever bring her thoughts back to that terrible day. The day she was dragged from the Malfoy Manor by her arm with her dress torn and makeup running. The day she was punished for her feelings, ones that consumed her every day since then.

She found herself doing something similar in her new room now which she had taken to decorating slightly over the summer. Instead of sitting at a vanity she was seated at her desk, in a nightgown she had bought in Diagon Alley, but still sat thinking about the Malfoy wedding. She had gotten ready for bed, wishes James goodnight, but couldn't will herself to go to sleep.

The previously silent house was disturbed by the opening of her door and the sound the steps made when she walked down them. She found herself sitting at the kitchen table, the only room that didn't contain any mirrors, trying to calm herself down. It was a few hours before she heard someone else come down the stairs, she didn't have to look up to see who it was.

Sirius could hardly look at her. The poor girl had been shaking all day. Had looked like she'd vomit right at the table. He had tried his best to avoid thinking about the wedding these past few hours as she had been. When she finally looked up at him, his heart broke at the state of her. She had been crying, shaking, and grieving for hours now. Grieving for the life that she lost, however bad it may have been. The life she found comfort in solely due to the fact that she had spent 16 years living in it.

Sirius only asked, "Can I walk you back to your room?" Ines opened her mouth as if she'd say no, and he was willing to let it drop, but she inclined her head.

They walked in silence the entire way up the stairs until they found themselves in the hall outside her room. The door was cracked open, golden light spilling onto the floor. Sirius had stopped his steps a few feet from her door and let her walk in. But she couldn't walk in, walk into a room in which she would spend another night alone. She turned back to him and walked back towards him. She kept going towards, she watched him as he refused to look down at the pink, delicate, very short lace nightgown to the best of his ability.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I wish this holiday wasn't ruined.". In a few days, it would be Christmas, the house was decorated to the brim with lights and garlands. Ines could hardly stand to look at it all. Despite her Christmas with the Potters being the best one she had ever had, it didn't feel right. She hated the feeling, a feeling that contradicted with the obvious good in the situation. "Maybe it isn't all ruined," Sirius whispered, before flicking his wand to the ceiling above them. Slowly, a sprig of mistletoe took shape between them.

Ines tipped her head back, and he found her lips. It was, she thought, supposed to be a fast and sweet little kiss, but somehow it slowed down, got warmer and deeper. His lips were damp and soft as silk, and that was such a contrast to the hard lines of his body pressed against her. The strength of his hands sliding around her waist and pulling her even closer. Her fingertips dug into his shoulders as she pressed closer. Then her lips parted to his, and there was no mistaking the passion in her response. Wild and sweet. His eyes were closed, but in his mind's eye he saw the lights of the giant tree from downstairs, and he knew he'd found a Christmas memory worth keeping.

She unwrapped herself from him, whispered goodnight, and walked into her room. Her small smile visible only in the moments she turned to close the door behind her. Minutes later, Sirius was still staring up at the ceiling, teeth gritted as he calmed the roaring in his veins that were steadily shredding through his self-control. That damned nightgown. That damned girl.


	36. Chapter Thirty Four

Lily arrived at the Potters an hour before the New Years' party was set to begin, stepping out of the fireplace she was greeted with an excited James and Ines. Ines pulled her into a hug before she gave James a polite hello and was whisked up the stairs towards Ines' bedroom. Ines, having already put together what she was to wear tonight had everything they needed laid out was already telling Lily what her plan was. Walking down the hall, Sirius' head popped out from his room just past James'. "Lily! You've arrived, How are you?", he had quite clearly just gotten out of the shower and was gripping a white towel hung around his waist. "Alright," she answered "Yourself?". "Fantastic," He nodded, smiling, his smile growing only the slightest bit bigger as he turned his eyes to Ines. She was wearing a Gryffindor beaters shirt, one that could very well be hers, but due to the laundry's tendency to make it into the wrong rooms, which then apparently took twenty minutes of conversation between the two of them to retrieve, it was most likely his. Ines pulled Lily into her room, keeping an impassive stare on Sirius, avoiding anything below his chin.

Lily looked around at the state of her room, with clothes strewn everywhere, as well as the clothes spilling out of her already full closet. "Gone shopping recently?" Lily asked through a smile, already knowing the answer. "Actually, yeah, I did buy a few new things," she confirmed, then she teased a little more by adding, "I think Sirius is going to really enjoy my outfit tonight.". Lily sat down on her bed, "Sirius seems to like you no matter what you're wearing," she grumbled. "So, what did you buy for him". "Just a mini skirt." She wouldn't tell her about the hair and the shoes, or what she bought to wear under the skirt. "I also grabbed something for you," She threw Lily a tight-fitting maroon dress with thin straps and a low neckline. Surprisingly enough Lily caught it, and held it, feeling it over in her hands. "I… thank you, Ines, but I don't know if I can wear it.". Ines sat down on the bed next to her, "Well, James seems to like you no matter what you're wearing.". Lily took a moment to consider it, before processing Ines words and throwing the dress at her, "Ines!". She threw it right back, "Just put it on, I think I've decided on mine.".

Forty-five minutes later, Ines emerged from her room in order to grab a cup of water for Lily to find Sirius leaving James' room. He looked her up and down, drinking her in. Her dark purple top had a v-neck cut, and her black mini skirt hugged her every curve. "Black" she muttered, before heading towards the stairs, knowing full well that he was following her. In the kitchen, she grabbed a glass from up on the shelf and felt him behind her. She whipped around, so their fronts were now facing each other. "I love the skirt," he said, his fingers trailing up and down her thigh. He was able to touch a majority of it considering the skirt didn't cover very much of her. "Wait until you see what I put Lily in, James will hardly be able to contain himself.". One hand made its way up to behind her head, pulling her closer to him. "Well if it's any better than what you're wearing now then they'll be snogging on the floor in an instant.". As much as it hurt, she untangled herself from him "Which is something we will not be doing, not here nor at the crowded party.". She filled the glass with water, as Sirius made his way around the kitchen to sit at the island across from the sink. "Sure, I wouldn't even think of it." He said, not meaning it at all. Ines rolled her eyes playfully, shut off the tap and made her way back up the stairs, feeling his gaze on her the whole way.

After another half hour, the girls were finally ready to head out. They all tried their best to be silent, making their way out of the now dark house due to Euphemia and Fleamont; Despite the fact that they most definitely knew where they were going. They made their way out the door and with help from the outdoor lights, James finally got a good look at Lily. It had taken Ines 15 minutes of convincing, with a Lily who very much wanted to say yes, to put on the dress with a pair of heels. The boys each wore long pants and loose-fitting button-ups, with the top few undone. James could hardly keep his eyes off of Lily on their way to Benji's causing numerous trips and falls. Coming to the end of Brereton Park the music from the house became more clear, and the colossal garden had people already spilling out of it. Passing through the front door, Ines was immediately pulled away from the boys by Lily. The rest of her friends had caught sight of them from where they were huddled by the fireplace and greeted them through slurs.

Hours passed, filled with dancing, drinking, and chatting. Ines had bested Emmeline in a game of beer pong and Dorcas had snogged Walter Parkin on the couch. A tap on Lily's shoulder sent the whole group of girls into shock. "Marlene!" Lily exclaimed, in shock over her outfit. Ines, usually having the most scandalous outfit of the night, was even taken aback. Marlene wore a black lace top that was hardly even there, with a pair of shorts that must be leaving her freezing as they covered hardly anything. "You like it? Ines?" She asked, gleefully. Ines grabbed whatever drink it was Mary was holding and grimaced into the cup and she nodded. "I've decided," she said, standing up taller, "Tonight, I'm going to do it.". Lily looked confused, "Do what?". Without a seconds notice, she answered: "I'm going to shag Sirius.". Ines tried her best not to spit out the drink, causing her to choke on it instead. "Are you!" Ines exclaimed, gripping the cup very tightly now. Marlene didn't notice her shock and discomfort. "Yeah, I'm thinking so. I mean, I've hardly heard of him getting with anyone at all in the past year, and I want to be the one to break that chain. Ines, you know him so well, is it true he hasn't shagged anyone in over a year?".

Ines didn't know what to say, she was pretty sure it was true, but who was she to know? The two of them weren't in any way official, hell, Ines wasn't even sure what it is she really felt towards him. He had nothing holding him back from shagging other girls, who was she to stop him? "I wouldn't know, Marlene.". Marlene didn't notice her hesitation, or sudden sadness fall across her face. "Well, still, how should I go about getting him to shag me? Kirley McCormack was desper-". Dorcas spun on her, "You shagged Catriona's brother?!". Ines took the moment in which her friends were distracted to slip away, leaving the cup on a random table on her walk towards the kitchen. There she found a table, stacked to the brim with every possible alcoholic drink, both wizard and muggle, and grabbed one for herself, before walking upstairs and locking herself in the bathroom. She sat herself down on the floor, leaning against the tub, and drank. Ines tried her best to get lost in it, to have the liquor warm her heart. But the entire partying lifestyle was becoming superficial in her experience, thinking about how most of her past hookups were as deep as a shot glass and as short-lived as a pack of cigarettes. All it gave her was a mindset that made her wallowing in sadness a whole lot deeper. She wasn't sure how she felt about Sirius, but at the mention of another girl, let alone Marlene, doing anything with him set her on edge. She wore something so tantalizing, so alluring, Sirius would be stupid not to shag her. It was new years, everyone was drunk, and he had no formal commitment to Ines so why wouldn't he?

Before long, she finished her drink and had cried all her years and was left sitting in the bathroom. At the sound of footsteps making their way towards the bathroom sent her shooting upwards and out the door. Two steps out of the door, she saw that it was Sirius. His button-up was now almost entirely unbuttoned and his hair severely messed up. "I've been looking for you," he said, running his hands through his long hair, "I asked the girls, they said they hadn't seen you for a while.". Before she could respond, the sound of two pairs of footsteps making their way up the stairs quite quickly cut her off. Ines pulled him into the closest room, which happened to be a bedroom, and locked the door. She couldn't face him, she stood still in front of the door. She heard him move around, and make his way to sit on the bed. Still not facing him, she took in a breath to muster her strength. "Marlene was looking for you … wanted to shag you.". He didn't respond, every second of his silence hurting her further. "Did she?" he asked, saying something, finally. Ines didn't respond and only listened to the sound of him moving.

She heard him get up from the bed, and felt him behind her, just as she had in the kitchen a few hours ago. "Do you think I want to shag her?" he whispered. She turned and opened her mouth to answer, but he was already kissing her. She had kissed him so many times—soft gentle kisses, hard and desperate ones, brief brushes of the lips that said good-bye, and kisses that seemed to go on for hours—and this was no different. The way the memory of someone who had once lived in a house might linger even after they were gone, like a sort of psychic imprint, her body remembered him. Remembered the way he tasted, the slant of his mouth over hers, his hair when she ran her hands through it, the shape of his body under her touch. Her nails dug into his back, and he trailed his lips down the edge of her chin, down the center of her neck. He kept going until he reached the bottom of her tops V-neck. Ines let out a small gasp, and he kissed all around the neckline, just enough to tease.

She knew it, she felt it in every touch he placed on her. She'd been in love with him for a while now. Longer than she wanted to admit. She tried not to think about it, whether he felt the same. Those things—those wishes—were at the bottom of a very, very long and bloody priority list. But she loved him. She couldn't exactly pinpoint what made her so certain, but she knew it then, as surely as she knew her name or the stars in the sky or any fact written in a book.

He broke apart first, and put his finger to her lips, and whispered to listen. Downstairs the countdown to midnight had started. "Five! Four! Three!" they called. Ines looked up into his eyes, the eyes filled with stars and the sky and everything good in the world. They brought in the new year lost in each other's eyes, before diving back into each other. When Sirius' hands started making its way up her skirt, further than they had earlier she stopped him. Pulling his hands off of her, she broke apart from their kiss. "I'm not going to shag you here,". He looked down at her, confused. "Not only do I want that to be more special than a drunken hour, but I also shagged Montague Knightley in here two years ago,". They both burst out laughing and retired to the bed to continue what they had been doing previously.

It was late now; so late that it could once again be called early—that surreal, enchanted, twilight hour between the end of a party and the unfurling of a new day. The hour when reality grows dim and hazy at the edges when nearly anything seems possible. But they hardly noticed as they walked down the stairs, out the door, and back to James'. They separated, going into their respective rooms. Inside, Ines found Lily lying her bed. "Hi," she whispered, a tentative smile creeping onto her face. Ines quickly changed back into Sirius' beaters shirt and climbed into bad, whispering a greeting in return. "Where did you go?". Ines didn't know how to respond, "Just …. Around.". Lily frowned slightly, then yawned. "She didn't shag him, you know that right.". Ines tried to conceal her slight smile, "Yeah, I know.". Lily propped herself up on her arms and looked at her inquisitively. "Did you?!". Ines giggled, "No, we … we didn't.". Lily looked at her for a second longer, deciding if she wanted to believe her before turning back and lying on her pillow. "I told you he would like you no matter what you wore. Goodnight, Ines."


	37. Chapter Thirty Five

"So," Professor Merrythought began, having taken out her own wand and indicated that the class should do the same. "The spell I am going to try and teach you is highly advanced magic, but as you are all Ordinary Wizarding Level students I believe you will do just fine. It is called the Patronus Charm. Can anyone tell me; how does it work?". Remus, sat at the table in front of Ines and Lily's raised his hand. "Well, when it works correctly, it conjures up a Patronus, which is a kind of anti-dementor guardian that acts as a shield between you and the dementor. The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the dementor feeds upon hope, happiness, the desire to survive; But it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the dementors can't hurt it.". Merrythought beamed at Remus, "Wonderful, Mr. Lupin. Now can anyone tell me what does a Patronus looks like?". This time Lily beat Remus to the catch and was called on. "Each one is unique to the wizard who conjures it.". Merrythought nodded, "Yes, and how Miss Evans do you conjure it?". "With an incantation, which will work only if you are concentrating, with all your might, on a single, very happy memory. Now turn to page 217 and read paragraphs one to four, and then we will begin".

While the class read Ines cast her mind about for a happy memory. Certainly, nothing that had happened to her at home with Oberon was going to do, all of the even semi-positive ones were now tainted. Finally, she settled on the moment when she had gotten onto the Quidditch team. It had been a warm September day, and the captain at the time was Edgar Clogg, a seeker, who was reluctant at first in letting a girl, let alone a third year, on the team. After having been paired up with Elias Grimstone, she saw her chance at making the team slowly slipping away so she took matters into her own hand. She slyly stunned him, causing his legs to seize and become paralyzed for only a few minutes to then grab Sirius, leaving an angry Glynnis Griffiths alone, to become her partner. The two of them together shone, working together outstandingly. Once it was announced that they had both made the team she had hugged him for the very first time.

"Right, and the incantation is this —" She cleared her throat, bringing Ines out of her thoughts. "Expecto patronum!" before motioning the class to repeat after her. "Expecto patronum," Ines repeated under her breath, "Expecto patronum.". "Now, let us all come down the floor and practice, whoever succeeds first gets 15 points towards their house." Kids clambered from the slanted rows of seats down to the large floor space and spread out. Ines made her way towards the entrance of the room, followed by Lily, Emmeline, Mary, and the boys. "Concentrating hard on your happy memory?". Ines extended her wand arm and looked around the room to find all her friends doing the same. The boys looked to each other with smug faces, nonchalantly holding their wands out. "Begin!" Merrythought exclaimed.

Ines thought hard, trying her best to place herself back into her thirteen-year-old shoes and spoke the incantation. Something whooshed suddenly out of the end of her wand; it looked like a wisp of silvery gas. It wasn't much compared to that of other students' but she was satisfied all the same. It wasn't for another ten minutes that anything of notoriety happened. Ines watched as James, Sirius, and Remus all shared a glance before exlaiming "Expecto Patronum". Three silver beings flowed through the room before taking a definite shape. A stag, a large dog, and a wolf all flitted around the ceiling as the whole class watched the boys. Merrythought clapped, the sleeves of her large cloak waving, "Wonderful job boys! Forty-Five points to Gryffindor!" the boys all high fived joyously. In her peripheral sight, she saw a whisp form behind her. Emmeline and Mary turned with her to find Lily standing still, staring at the silver forming in front of her. A doe, with high and delicate ears and long legs.

Ines turned away from James, who did not look like he would quit celebrating any time soon, just as the door was closing. With a sinking feeling, she thought he saw a flash of red hair whipping out of sight. She darted forward, sidestepped Emmeline, and pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady. The corridor outside seemed to be deserted. "Lily?". She found her in the first unlocked classroom she tried. She was sitting on a chair in the back of the room with her head in her hands. "I know you saw it," she said, her voice crackling with every word. "The whole class probably saw it, and now they all … know.". Ines made her way over to Lily, sliding down to sit on the wall she was near. "Know what? Lily?" She removed her hands from her face, tear tracks covering her cheeks. "Don't play dumb Ines, it was in the reading." Ines sat silently, debating how to go on. "You didn't read it," Lily whispered and Ines nodded. "What did it say?" Ines asked, her voice soft.

Lily ran her hands through her hair before reciting the words from the book as if she remembered them all perfectly. "The Patronus often mutates to take the image of the love of one's life, because they so often become the 'happy thought' that generates a Patronus." Ines sat silently, taking in her words. "Don't you get it? Mines a doe and James' is a stag! I… I can't do it as you and Sirius have been I can't just live with the fact that I know there's a connection between us when I haven't come to terms with it myself yet! It's a dangerous time for people like me and I try my best to ignore things … like him … because…". Ines reached up and grabbed Lily's hand, partially to comfort her and partially because she was unsure of how to respond. "Lily if you don't feel ready to confront your feelings thats ok. They aren't always easy, believe me, I know." Lily looked up at her again, giving her a knowing look. "Me and Sirius, I … we're not anything but we aren't nothing and its not anything that we're good at talking about. I'm not sure how I feel about him.".

Lily slid off her chair and slumped onto the ground beside Ines, leaning her head on her shoulder with their hands still intertwined. They ignored the bustle of classes around them being let out. In their silence, Ines pulled out her wand and whispered "Expecto Patronum". Out of her wand materialized a small animal. A silver cat pranced around the floor, its tail stuck straight up. Ines didn't speak, not anything to Lily who had now looked up. Her and Sirius' were different. Lily noticed her shock and rubbed her arm. "You do know what it is right?". Ines spoke softly, "A cat.". Lily nodded, "Yeah, a British Shorthair, a pure one by the looks of it. They're quite friendly… great with dogs.".

Ines tried her best to conceal her smile, and Lily giggled at her struggle. "I told you, I'm not sure how I feel just yet.". Lily nodded again, "Of course, I understand." The truth was, Ines had a pretty good idea of how she felt about Sirius and felt guilty lying to Lily. But as she said, it wasn't something they were very good at talking about. Instead, she repeated her response into her head, over and over, affirming the truth in herself, as she watched her Patronus float around the room.

_Every time his hand touches my bare skin I feel an electric wave go through my body. And every time I look at him, I want to push him up a wall and kiss him with a passion the likes of which this damn earth has never seen before. If he were here right now, I would hold him so tight, whisper in his ear, and tell him how much I love him. If he were here right now, I'd wrap my arms around him so tight to make him feel protected, while looking into his eyes, telling him how beautiful he is and I'd lean in and give him kisses all over._


	38. Chapter Thirty Six

The entrance hall contained a few last-minute stragglers, all leaving the Great Hall after lunch and heading through the double oak doors to enjoy the weather outside, as it was quickly warming up. Some watched as Ines and Lily made their way past and inside. The ceiling was reflective of the clear sky outside, and the seats were mostly empty. They had had a late night, staying up to study for their transfiguration exam that they had taken that morning. Having skipped breakfast they were starving and had yet to get their mail.

Sitting on the far end of the Gryffindor table, various parts of their meal appeared before them. Not long after they had sat down had their mail arrived, Ines large gray owl swooping down next to her with Lily's in front. From its leg, Ines pulled the Daily Prophet and a Witch Weekly, nor having received a single letter since she was kicked from her family. Lily pulled a Daily Prophet as well, along with a letter from her mother, and Transfiguration Today.

"I can't believe McGonagall made us so nervous for the exam, and it wasn't even half bad " Ines muttered, a mouthful of roast beef. Ines put down her bread, swallowing so she could talk, "Speak for yourself, I'm still a right mess over it!". Ines giggled, shaking her head, "You did fine, I checked my answers with yours before we turned them in and they all seemed right.". Lily's head snapped to Ines', "You cheated!". "It's not cheating Lily-flower" Using the name she knew she would hate, "I was simply cross-checking our answers, I ended up having to change only a few of mine."

Ines flipped open the Daily Prophet only to find her father's face staring back at her. The Goblin Liason office had been given an award from the minister for its excellence in 'taking incredible care of the magical economy and the relations between goblins and wizards'. Her father had a smile on that she had never seen before, at least never towards her. He was surrounded by the rest of the department, yet standing front and center. Ines' change in demeanor was immediately noticed by Lily who opened her Daily Prophet to find the same. After quickly skimming she flipped hers to the next page and shoved it in front of Ines, "Look, Wales versus Germany." she said. The page had a large photo of the Whales seeker, having caught the Snitch eleven minutes into the game. Ines looked to Lily, silently communicating her thanks before reading the article.

After a half-hour more, students came into the Great Hall, avoiding the rain that now poured outside. They were left alone for the most part, save for a few hellos and short conversations, until a crowd of Slytherins made their way in, lead by Mulciber. They made their way down the length of the great hall, invested in a very interesting conversation. They passed the girls and Ines caught a few words from Mulciber, words that shook her to her core. "Pomfreys a right mess, nasty, Dumbledores probably up there speaking to Oberon and filthy Black now.". Cryptic, but not enough to keep Ines at bay. She immediately sat upright, her eyes wide. She turned to Lily, seeing if she heard the same. The expression on her face illuded that she had and the girls quickly packed up their stuff and sped from the Great Hall.

Pushing against the tide of students the girls made their way to the staircase, waiting until it made its way to the correct landing. The move was slow, only increasing their anxiety. Ines' hands were shaking now, any interaction between Oberon and Sirius was bad enough. But one that has Pomfrey a mess and a conversation with Dumbledore set her almost over the edge. Tears were forming around her eyes now, Lily reached across the stairwell and pulled her into a quick hug and whispered about how it would be ok before the stair reached the correct floor and they set off again. The sprinted through the halls, ignoring the glares and remarks they got from the paintings. They rounded the corner to the hospital wing and was faced with Remus, James, and Peter who were walking out. They opened their mouths to speak to her but she strutted past. Madame Pomfrey was alarmed by the loud footsteps and poked her head out from behind a screen. "Ah! Miss Avery". She looked very frazzled, so much so that she had forgone her usually tight bun.

Ines took a sharp turn towards the bed only to be looking down at Oberon. Ines was taken aback, not expecting to have seen him but rather Sirius. He was asleep with his shirt ripped up, the openings lined with dried blood. Ines didn't speak, both out of shock and lack of reaction. Madame Pomfrey looked up at her confused, expecting a reaction that wasn't the one she was currently giving. The sound of an opening door drew the attention away from them, Sirius, led by Dumbledore an McGonagall, was walking out of Madame Pomfrey's office with solemn faces. Ines stalked away from Oberon's bed and back towards where her friends were standing. Dumbledore and McGonagall bid Sirius goodbye and nodded to them all.

Sirius wasn't nearly as hurt as Oberon but hurt all the same. Small lacerations on his face and arms and bruises all over, but on his feet. They walked out of the hospital wing silently and stepped away into the corridor. Ines stood alone, Lily having been filled into the situation stood with the boys, facing Sirius. "What happened," Ines whispered, unsure if she should be angry or relieved. Sirius took in a breath and placed his arms at his side. "I… did that to him.". "Why!" Ines spat out. He took in another breath, "He laughed about… you, the Prophet it-". Ines cut him off, "In what way did it warrant attacking him?". Sirius was getting frustrated now, "The Prophet it … spoke horribly about you in the article on your father. He … laughed and agreed. So I attacked him! So what!". He was raising his voice now, getting angrier, "Why do you care! He's been horrible to you! Your whole family has been! Suddenly when I fight back you want to defend him! You hate him! You-!"

SMACK! She had slapped Sirius across the face with all the strength she could muster. Sirius staggered. James, Remus, Peter, and Lily stood flabbergasted as Ines raised her hand again. "Don't you dare, you foul — you evil —" She didn't know what to say to him, partially because she wasn't even sure how she felt.. "Ines!" said James weakly, and he tried to grab her hand as she swung it back. "Get off, James!". Ines pulled out her wand. Sirius stepped backward yet again. "C'mon," Sirius muttered, reaching out for Ines' arm which she back away from and stalked off, making her way back down the hall, letting the tears finally pour out.


	39. Chapter Thirty Seven

The time it had taken for her to slow her breathing and dry her tears had left her in darkness. Looking out over the courtyard from the astronomy tower, she realized he had no idea whether it was hysteria or love that left her this way. On top of it all, love for who? Her feelings towards Sirius were strained, nothing she was good at putting into words, especially not to his face as to make whatever it is that they had official. Her feelings towards Oberon were even more confusing, her heart felt one way and her mind felt another and she wasn't sure which was which. She hated him, with heart or mind she didn't know, for being the person he was. A person who terrorized others, fed off of fear, and followed her parents. She had struggled to think about what it was he most likely did, who he followed and worked under. She couldn't put the two pieces together, her other half that she had spent the first eleven years of her life attached at the hip to, and someone spreading evil. They were like two people in one body, a body she had seen injured in the hospital wing bed and walked away from. Yet one that she was unable to hear harsh words about because it still felt as though he was right at her hip and the remarks were directed to her too, she could feel the impact on their shared soul.

She wallowed in her sadness for what felt like hours before she heard anything. She knew it was him immediately, by the sound of his walk, his breathing. She listened as he walked towards her, something in his hand, and let out a deep breath. His shirt was unbuttoned at the top, and he ran a hand through his black hair before he wordlessly slumped against the wall across from Ines and slid to the floor. "What do you want?" She demanded. "A moment of peace and quiet," he snapped, rubbing his temples. She paused, appalled at his words. "From what?". He massaged his pale skin, making the corners of his eyes go up and down, out and in. He sighed. "From this mess."

Ines looked at him now, appalled by his words. "What! Do you mean the mess you made!". He didn't respond which only frustrated her more, she stood up and pushed off the wall, walking towards the railing yet unable to walk out the door. "I can't believe you," she muttered, "It's a shock that you're here and not packing for tomorrow mornings train.". There was a beat of silence in which Ines could hardly focus on the view of the sprawling lands in front of her but rather the breathing behind her, assuring her he was still here. "I haven't been expelled or anything, but I'm pretty sure I'll be serving detention until graduation." His joke wasn't well received. Ines gripped the railing, trying to keep her breathing steady, "I just … why'd you do it?". Another pause, "The prophet, this morning, did you not read it?" She shook her head slightly, listening to the unfurling of the papers that she now knew was the Daily Prophet.

He cleared his throat before reading the article "Victor Avery, head of the Goblin Liason office spoke to our reporters about their award from the Minister for its excellence in 'taking incredible care of the magical economy and the relations between goblins and wizards'. Avery, heard of the department for nearly twenty years, was thrilled. 'I'm overjoyed by this sentiment, especially from someone like the Minister for magic.'. Our reporters then asked about his family, 'All is well, it feels wonderful to have plenty of support from my wonderful wife Agnes. My son is now mid-way through his sixth year at Hogwarts as a Slytherin and is doing quite well.'. Avery had forgone mentioning his daughter, twin to his son, who according to recent rumours is no longer apart of the family due to delinquency, lawlessness, and promiscuity. It is to be assumed she is attending Hogwarts as well."

Ines tried to focus on her breathing as she took in his words, the words the Prophet said, and the words her father didn't. "Regulus was reading it," he said finally, "Bulstrode asked him to read it aloud. He laughed at it, said 'At least everyone knows the truth now'. Ines he-". Ine spun towards him, noticing he was standing now. "But why'd you have to hurt him?!". He took a second, his face heating up with anger. "Why?! You think I'd just let him ridicule you like that? He's lucky I didn't tear all his limbs off, him and all his cronies! To disrespect you like that! I couldn't stand by and let it happen. I know he's your brother and you still care about him in your own screwed way, but I couldn't let him get away with what he did.". Ines gripped her hair, taking a step closer to him, to which he was startled by due to their sudden close proximity. "Why?" She whispered, feeling feeble and tired now.

He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Because I love you!" Her mouth fell open. "I love you," he repeated, shaking her again. "I have for years." The only sounds were their breathing. "You're a damned idiot," she breathed, grabbing the front of his button-up. "You're a moron and an ass and a damned idiot." He looked like she had hit him. But she went on and grasped both sides of his face, and then she kissed him. And as her lips met his and he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close against him. His mouth was warm and soft, his body wondrously solid against hers, his hair silken as she threaded her fingers through it. Still, she let him guide her, forced herself to remember to breathe as he eased her lips apart with his own. When she felt the brush of his tongue against hers, she was so full of lightning she thought she might die from the rush of it. She wanted more. She wanted all of him. She couldn't hold him tight enough, kiss him fast enough. She pushed him against the wall, and his hands roamed all over her back, her sides, her hips. She wanted to bask in the feeling—wanted to rip off her clothes so she could feel his calloused hands against her bare skin. The intensity of that desire swept her away. Sirius' lips left her mouth to travel along her neck. They grazed a spot beneath her ear and her breath hitched. He took a small step back and saw that Ines' eyes were still bright with those tears he'd caused. One still clung to her cheek. Sirius wiped it away. Another one he found down by her jaw. "I love you, Sirius." Her low-spoken words blended seamlessly with the rhythm of their breathing, but she knew he had heard him when she pressed her lips to his skin once again.


	40. Chapter Thirty Eight

Ines, Marlene, Lily, Dorcas, and Mary all made their way down to the end-of-year feast that night. They had been held up by Marlene's fussing about, insisting on giving her trunk one last check to make sure she remembered everything, so the Great Hall was already full. It was decked out in the Ravenclaw colors of blue and silver to celebrate Ravenclaw's winning the House Cup. A huge banner showing the Ravenclaw raven covered the wall behind the High Table. Once inside, Ines slipped into a seat between James and Peter at the Gryffindor table that they had saved for her, the girls sitting on either side of the boys. Including Lily, on James' other side to his delight. Ines looked up to find Sirius' eyes on her, her heart swelling at the mere sight of him.

It had been almost two weeks since the moment they shared on the astronomy tower, and for some strange reason, nothing had changed. The only difference being the fact that they loved each other, something that they had never hidden physically, was now in words. They hadn't told anybody, it was something they nonverbally decided to keep between them. Staring into his eyes was difficult, especially in the presence of her friends. She had no idea if her friends had any idea about the state of her relationship, they definitely noticed her positivity as of late. She tore her eyes away from his, as hard as it was, in fear of not being able to contain herself if she looked for a second longer.

Fortunately, Dumbledore arrived moments later. The babble died away. "Another year has gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully, your heads are all a little fuller than they were, you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts. I leave you now with these words; Don't be afraid of being scared. To be afraid is a sign of common sense. Only complete idiots are not afraid of anything. Being brave is not as easy as it looks, but when you are brave only good things prevail. I will not dance around it, the world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it. Be brave, and know that it is ok to be scared, but don't run from it.". He nodded, stepping away from his podium to the cheers of the great hall.

Dumbledore's words resonated with Ines, and much of Hogwarts as they rode the train home. Ines gave a quick smile to Sirius before they parted ways on the train, Emmeline would be leaving for Australia, following her mother yet again for another summer with dragons, so the girls wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. Owen Caudwell stopped by midway through, wishing to speak to Mary. Upon her return, she was left with swollen lips and a red face, as well as no desire to speak about the proceedings of her return. In reaching the station, they all filed out and began bidding their goodbyes. Although no concrete plans had been set, Ines and Lily knew they were likely to see each other in the next few weeks. Not only due to their tight relationship but the one that had been she had formed with James as of late. They had begun to turn from unlikely friends to pleasant acquaintances, something that made Ines overjoyed.

Walking through the platform, Ines once again passed her family. She felt their eyes on her, the disgusted look from her father was enough to send anyone on edge. It didn't soften at all by the arrival of her brother, her mother simply pulled him in for a quick embrace and they were on their way. Out of the bustle of the platform, Euphemia became visible, her arms already outstretched at the sight of the three of them. Sirius barreled into her first, causing her to almost topple over, before letting up so she could hug James and Ines. She placed a kiss on Ines' forehead, "How are you darling?". Ines pulled back slightly to look up at her, "Fine, glad to be over with the year.". She nodded and began herding the kids towards the exit.

Once outside Kings Cross Euphemia grabs onto them and apparates to the Potters home, inside they were greeted by Fleamont and all sat on the back patio and recounted various - abridged and censored - stories of what they did in the past year. After an hour, plenty of laughs, and cups of tea the Potters house-elf rounded the corner notifying them of a friend that arrived. The Potters bid goodbye to Ines and Sirius, saying they would continue their conversations in a bit.

Ines and Sirius sat in their chairs, watching the three of them walk into the house and listened to their footsteps grow softer. Then, in a flash, they were out of their seats, across the lawn and into the woods, running for no reason and laughing for no reason and totally out of breath and out of their minds when Sirius caught her by her shirt, whipped her around, and with one strong hand flat against her chest, pushed her against a tree and kisses her so hard she feels like she's going blind. He pushed into her further, his hands now gripping the sides of her waist.

He stepped back when Ines no longer reciprocated and was set into a fit of giggles. He looked down at her, a smile now creeping upon his own face. "What," he muttered "something funny.". Ines calmed herself down, "no, nothing funny, I'm just happy that I'm not scared of that anymore.". He leaned in once again but she pushed him away, "But I did want to talk to you. I love you, I really do, and while I have no problem telling you that I'm not sure I'm ready to let other people know that." Sirius removed his hands from her waist and put them in her hands. "It won't upset anyone, sure James may be a right git for a while considering he'll think I'm tainting you but he'll get over it.". Ines laughed slightly at the prospect but continued her point. "I'm not worried about James. It's just that I'd like to keep this our own thing for a while.".

Sirius nodded slightly, still thinking before it hit him. "Oberon.". Ines tensed up only slightly at the mention of his name before she crumpled up a bit into herself, tears already falling down her face. He gripped her tight, holding her close to him. She could hardly get words out, they drowned in the tears that were spilling down her face. "I'm sorry… I can't. He probably already suspects but, I can't have him know. Not when I can have you and he can't have Regulus.". Sirius had always suspected something between the two of them, but this confirmed it. He didn't often feel anything towards his younger brother, but this he could sympathize with. Not on a level that Ines would, he didn't think he ever would. He let her cry until her breathing slowed and she stopped shaking. Holding her tight enough that she knew that he wouldn't let Oberon know; anything to keep the love of his life happy.


	41. Chapter Thirty Nine

As much as Ines enjoyed summer, the lulls between raging parties and nights spent enjoying the cool weather were imminent. Sat in the Potters living room reading a muggle book that Lily had given her, James was throwing a snitch toy as he lay on the couch, increasingly annoying Ines with every toss. James had been quite jealous when Lily's owl came in, carrying nothing for him and only Ines. But, not that Ines would ever tell him, she may have let it slip to a certain someone that he had gotten upset. Her owl was back the next day, a letter in its clutches addressed to the one and only James Potter.

James, with the short attention span that he had, was having a particularly boring summer. He wasn't exactly sure what it was that caused this, not noticing any changes in the past few months. He was oblivious to the fact that Ines and Sirius often headed 'off the bed' earlier than usual, and woke up later than the rest of the house. They spent their nights in the Potters garden, roaming Diagon Alley, or in each other's bedrooms. While they had yet to do anything that they would be embarrassed to find Euphemia walk in on, they had fun in their own ways. Ines had become proficient in braiding, especially on a head of hair very reluctant to her work.

At the moment, she had no idea where Sirius was. He had untangled himself from her at some point, leaving her alone in her bed with only a forehead kiss goodbye and a promise to be back later. Fleamont strode through the two couches and sat on the armchair adjacent from James. "I find it quite hard for the two of you to have absolutely nothing to do, or did you come back late last night." Ines and James shot each other semi worried looks, before pretending to not have even noticed his comment. "Not that I suspect you would have," Fleamont muttered, trying to hold back his smile, "Only curious".

They had in fact gotten home quite late, around three in the morning if Ines had to guess. They had been at the finest wizarding Inn sat at the bar, and through connections Ines had from a summer spent with Dmitri (something she explained to only James) they were able to get free drinks. They had woken up around two in the afternoon, missed both breakfast and lunch, were too drained to eat dinner, and then found themselves where they were now at seven in the evening. Fleamont looked between the two of them, his grin akin to that of James' after a prank, before getting up again "I'll leave you two be," he whispered. Ines and James listened to the sound of his footsteps as they went down the hall, through the foyer, and up the stairs. The sound of his office door closing sent the two of them into a fit of giggles. James' laughter sent him tumbling off the side of the couch, causing them to laugh even harder.

As they wiped the tears from their cheeks and let out the last few giggles they were interrupted by a loud and undiscernable sound from out front. Without a moment's hesitation they sprinted from the living room, Ines had her wand drawn, James forgoing his, and pushed open the big double doors. Expecting some sort of threat, they were pleasantly surprised by what they saw, despite their confusion. Ines knew what it was as Lily had explained it to her the summer before, her sister Petunia had become aggravated by the sound of one driving past their house, and her ensuing confusion sparked confusion in Mr. and Mrs. Evans. James seemed to know what it was as well, and sprinted down the steps and smacked Sirius playfully on the shoulders. "Where'd you get this you git!" Sirius laughed, running his hands through his long hair. "At the bar last night, while the two of you were cracking jokes with the bartender I struck up a deal with this man from the ministry, he said that some 'redhead nosy bloke' from the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office was riding his tail for it so I took it off of him."

From the Potters top step Ines gazed down at a shiny blue motorbike, which Sirius sat astride with a big grin on his face. "Like it Ines?" he yelled over the sound of the engine. Ines tried to contain her smile, and the flutters seeing him with the motorbike gave her. "Why was the man trying to evade the ministry over the bike?". A grin spread over Sirius's face, "Wait until I show you."

Ines hadn't been through muggle London many times but quickly decided that riding a motorcycle has to be one of the best ways to view, experience and discover what it has to offer. On a motorcycle, you have the freedom to ride where and when you want. What made this motorbike different though, was that they could see this all from the skies. Sirius had extended the seat, so large you could fit a giant on it, and the three of them sat perfectly on it, admiring the glittering lights of the city from up above. Ines, sat in the middle of the two boys, yelled at the top of her lungs as they descended down towards the streets. It was different than being on a broom, the experience of being held by her best friend behind her and the love of her life controlling their direction in front of her was something so different she couldn't explain it if she tried. They had been flying above the city for the hours and continued their speed through the near-empty streets.

As they sped around a sharp corner they caught the attention of two muggle policemen in their cars who were now pursuing them. "Shit!" Sirius yelled, his tone making it sound like more of a thrill than a concern. The car behind them tried its best to catch up to them, failing due to the fact that the motorbikes speed capability was enchanted. They took a sharp turn, without fear of falling off due to yet another enchantment, into a narrow side street. The car behind them could hardly fit into the alleyway now, Ines could hear the scraping of the flank of the car against the brick sides. "Sirius you idiot, we're trapped!" she yelled into his ear, half laughing at the whole ordeal. They were now stuck between a towering brick wall and two angry policemen who were now making their way out of the car with some difficulty. The two of them had little respect for muggle policeman, their jobs were so minuscule on the scale of the world they weren't aware they shared with people who could kill them with two simple words. James laughed at their struggle, as they crab-walked through the little space between their car and the wall.

"Get off the bike!" The taller of the policeman bellowed. They did as they were told and stood in a line beside the bike, and the policeman finally got a good look at them. The three of them looked like the exact type of teenage delinquents that the police officers often most likely often dealt with. Sirius' long hair, while quite attractive to Ines, gave others a bad sense of him. That and his likeliness to the type of guitar playing douche that no father would want their daughter bringing home for dinner. James, while much more refined looking, had a shit-eating grin on, and was wearing a Gryffindor shirt; something that the police officers definitely didn't understand and most likely thought poorly of based on the looks they gave him after spotting it. Ines was scantily dressed, her shorts were hardly there and her long hair covered most of what her shirt failed to do.

"No helmets!" the second one yelled, pointing from one uncovered head to the other. "Exceeding the speed limit by – by a considerable amount! Failing to stop for the police!". James laughed, running his hand through is hair. "We'd have loved to stop for a chat, only we were trying —". "Don't get smart – you two are in a heap of trouble!" snarled the tall one. "Names!" Sirius quickly glanced at Ines, trying to hold back laughter. "Names?" repeated Sirius. "Er – well, let's see. There's Wilberforce… Bathsheba… Elvendork…" "And what's nice about that one is, you can use it for a boy or a girl," Ines interjected. The policeman looked very frustrated and got visibly angrier. "Oh, OUR names, did you mean?" James yelled as the second policeman sputtered in rage. "You should've said! This here is Sirius Black and Ines Avery, and I'm James Potter!". Ines mock bowed "pleasure to make your acquaintance!". The tall officer pulled his sleeves up "Things'll be very unpleasant for you in a minute, you cheeky little —".

But neither James, Sirius, nor Ines was paying attention. They were suddenly as alert as gundogs, staring past the officers, over the roof of the police car, at the dark mouth of the alley. Then, with identical fluid movements, they reached into their back pockets. "Drumsticks?" jeered the officer. "Right pair of jokers, aren't you? Right, we're arresting you on a charge of —". But they never got to name the charge. The three of them had shouted something incomprehensible to them, and the beams from the headlights had moved. The policemen wheeled around, then staggered backward, the police car was rearing up on its back wheels. They turned back to find that the motorbike had roared into life again. "Thanks very much!" called Sirius over the throb of the engine. "We owe you one!" Ines yelled, gripping Sirius tight. "Yeah, nice meeting you!" said James. "And don't forget Elvendork! It's unisex!" There was an earth-shattering crash, and the policemen threw their arms around each other in fright; their car had just fallen back to the ground. Now it was the motorcycle's turn to rear. Before the policemen's disbelieving eyes, it took off into the air: James, Sirius, and Ines zoomed away into the night sky, their tail light twinkling behind them like a vanishing ruby.


	42. Chapter Fourty

Ines wasn't one for routines, but she ate breakfast with the Potters almost every morning without fail. Mrs. Potter, who prided herself on her cooking abilities as much of the food in the house was thanks to the house-elf, made pancakes with all sorts of syrups every morning. Ines was on her second serving of chocolate drizzled pancakes when she turned to look outside. Something very small and gray was bobbing in and out of sight beyond the glass. She stood up for a better look and saw that it was a tiny owl, carrying a letter that was much too big for it. The owl was so small, in fact, that it kept tumbling over in the air, buffeted this way and that. At the same time, the boys were waltzing into the kitchen. They had stayed up a bit late to finish a game of exploding snap, and Sirius even later to spend time with Ines and had only just woken up. They followed Ines' line of sight and spotted the owl as well. "Thought we wouldn't be getting our Hogwarts letters until at least next week," Sirius said as he rounded the table to give Mrs. Potter a good morning kiss and sit in his seat.

As the owl got closer, Ines quickly pulled down the window, stretched out her arm, and caught it. It felt like a very fluffy Snitch. Se brought it carefully inside. The owl dropped its letter into Ines' hands and began zooming around the kitchen, apparently very pleased with itself for accomplishing its task. James picked up the letter. It was addressed to him. Trembling slightly, he opened the envelope. Two things of paper fell out — a letter and a shiny 'Head Boy' pin.

The news of James being elected Head Boy sent the house into a flurry. After Sirius and Ines got over their laughter, thinking that it was a joke, they joined his parents in congratulating him. Ines teased him about how Lily would have her hands full, as she was no doubt elected head girl, and told him to remind her to send an owl over later. Mrs. Potter proposed they take a celebratory trip to Diagon Alley, to get a jump start on the supplies they would no doubt need and to get something nice for James. They all filed through the fireplace and floo'd into the Leaky Cauldron less than an hour later.

The bar of the Leaky Cauldron was packed. Tom, the stooped and toothless landlord, was polishing glasses behind the bar counter; a couple of warlocks having a muttered conversation in the far corner glanced at the no doubt unusual sight of them and retreated back into their shadows. They made their way out the door and with the tap of Fleamonts wand on the wall the bricks began to whirl and spin: A hole appeared in the middle of them, which grew wider and wider, finally forming an archway onto the narrow cobbled street that was Diagon Alley. People were bustling around from shop to shop, vendors filled the sidewalks, and Gringotts loomed over them all from the end. Mr and Mrs. Potter turned to them, "We'll meet you guys back here in an hour or so, we have some errands to run". Mrs. Potter squeezed James' cheeks at this comment, excited to spoil her son for his accomplishments.

The three of them were left on their own, not that they minded, to roam Diagon Alley. Sirius listed all the things he wanted to buy, a new bookbag, something from Zonko's, and shoes. James' already giddy with excitement, was just excited to see what his parents would get him. All the while they were talking, Ines couldn't help but feel Gringotts looming above her. "What about you Ines, didn't you mention last week you needed a new Beaters bat grip?" Sirius asked, breaking her out of her trance. "I wonder if I can still access my vault at Gringotts," she said, stopping the two of them in their tracks. "Well not exactly my vault, me and Oberon have a shared one. I haven't gotten any money on me, and I do need that bat grip. I'll need to try and get it one day, so why not now". They contemplated it, it wouldn't take much for Ines' claim on the gold to be taken from her considering her father's position with the banks, but it was worth a shot.

After wading through the crowd of people they arrived at the foot of the marble steps leading up to the great bronze doors. A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Ines couldn't help but feel their eyes on her, her father had always been mistrusting of the goblins and the unknown powers they no doubt had, and despite truly knowing little about them for sure, she believed him. The no doubt knew who she was from the second she walked in the door, possibly even before. They made their way to the head counter, where a goblin was peering down at them.

"I wish to enter my vault," Ines said. "You have . . . identification?" asked the goblin. Ines fumbled with her words, the only times she had ever gone to her vault before were with her parents, and they let their family in without question at the sight of her father. The goblin seemed to know this, "Your wand will do, madam," said the goblin. He held out a slightly trembling hand as if worried what the consequences of speaking to his boss' estranged daughter and delinquent friends would be. She handed her wand to him, and the goblin looked at it closely. "That seems to be in order.".

He then whistled to summon a little cart that came trundling along the tracks toward them out of the darkness. They climbed in with little difficulty and were off. With a jerk the cart moved off, gathering speed: They hurtled past other tracks leading to the lesser vaults, then the cart began twisting and turning through the labyrinthine passages, sloping downward all the time. Ines had been to the official Avery vault a few times, and the riches behind it was enough to solve world hunger. She couldn't help but wonder what her vault would hold after all these years if she could even get in. They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled around tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and James leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom but Sirius groaned and pulled him back by the scruff of his neck.

Vault 1,217 had no lock, the goblin simply prompted Ines to lift her hand, and the door of the vault melted away to reveal a cavelike opening crammed from floor to ceiling with golden coins and goblets, silver armor, the skins of strange creatures — some with long spines, others with drooping wings — potions in jeweled flasks, and a skull still wearing a crown. There was no divide between what belonged to Ines and to Oberon, it belonged to the both of them. In the back, there was a large pit, filled with enough Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts to last her for the rest of her life and her children. Ines reached inside and took a handful, mostly Galleons, and shoved them into her pockets. The boys, having no shortage of riches themselves, still took to gazing around at their surroundings. "If this is for the two of you, I can't imagine what the Avery Family one has,". James exclaimed. "I've never been," Ines replied, "It's much further down, by the Lestranges vault if I remember what Oberon told me correctly.".

One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Ines didn't know where to run first now that he had a pocket full of money, and access to plenty more. After an hour spent in Quality Quidditch Supplies, they headed for Flourish and Blotts. Walking down the cobblestone path, Ines felt a grab at her hand. She was delighted to look up and find Sirius attached to it, but the look on her face alluded to it's meaning not being one of compassion. He wasn't looking at her, but Nocturn Alley and when Ines did the same she caught a glimpse of Regulus staring back at her. They hurried their pace, making it to Flourish and Blotts in record time. Just as they made their way to get in, they were greeted by the friendly faces of Euphemia and Fleamont.

Euphemia jumped back at the sight of them, "Oh, we were just going to look for the two of you." Euphemia looked to Fleamont, not having suspected to see them all so soon. "Oh just give it to him, doesn't make a difference where he gets it.". She looked torn but gave in, handing James a large package. It became obvious to all who it was immediately, and underneath all the wrappings. James' smile grew a thousand sizes at the sight of his new broom, a Comet 290. He hugged his parents tightly and they congratulated him on his accomplishment once again.

James was over the moon, he could hardly get his words out about his plans for the upcoming quidditch season the whole walk back to the Leaky Cauldron. But what reversed it all, was the owl perched at his window once they returned home. They had all settled into his bedroom, tired from the day they had had, to find they were being watched; A tawny owl with a nicely written note in its clutches. James ripped it open excitedly, Sirius didn't understand the smile on Ines' face and went over to join James in reading it. He was reluctant, moving away from Sirius and back closer to the owl. Lily's owl.


	43. Chapter Fourty One

After a tearful goodbye, Euphemia and Fleamont were finally ready to bid goodbye to their three children for their last year at Hogwarts. Sadly they couldn't come to see them off due to work complications, despite Euphemia's desperate attempts to alter them. Ines avoided thinking about it, not wanting to succumb to the fear surrounding not only her future but the future of the world that she would be thrust to after leaving Hogwarts. Ines was used to getting onto platform nine and three-quarters by now. It was a simple matter of walking straight through the apparently solid barrier dividing platforms nine and ten. With the boys at her side, they leaned casually against the barrier, chatting unconcernedly, and slid sideways through it; and as they did so, platform nine and three-quarters materialized in front of them.

The Hogwarts Express, the gleaming scarlet steam engine, was already there, clouds of steam billowing from it, through which the many Hogwarts students and parents milled about. Ines, Sirius, and James set off to find seats and were soon stowing their luggage in a compartment halfway along the train. They had found Peter quire quickly, as he aimlessly roamed the halls, no doubt in search of them and eventually Remus came along. The trolley came rattling along the corridor, and Ines bought a large stack of Cauldron Cakes for them to share and a pack of sugar quills for herself.

Just as they were about to dive into them Lily had appeared in the doorway. James immediately stood from his seat, stared at her as she was him, and sat back down. "Hello everyone, good summers I hope?" She was speaking frantically, visibly nervous. "Good, well… we've got to get to the meeting, James… and Remus you two of course.". Sirius kicked his feet up onto Ines' lap, "Get it over with, don't get pregnant, I'll see you all later now shoo." Sirius's declaration and Ines' woefully hidden sniggers didn't help the tension that brewed between Lily and James, but soon enough they left. Leaving Sirius and Ines with only Peter.

Ines' couldn't help but feel guilty, she loved Peter, without a doubt. He was nothing if not a loyal friend and wanted nothing more than to please everyone. But his awkward behavior and lack of conversational skills made spending any time alone with him rather difficult. They spoke briefly about his summer, which he didn't have much to say about, and were yet again found in a bout of awkward silence. Sirius lifted his legs off of Ines' and pulled her to her feet, "I'm going to go get Ines pregnant or something, not that you'd do the same to anyone, but don't. I'll see you later".

He pulled her into the corridor and they started walking down in an incredibly quick pace. "Fat chance of that happening,". He grinned, "I know, just wanted to say something so I know he wouldn't go looking for us.". "Who's to say he won't? Maybe he'd want to watch, maybe he likes that sort of thing.". Sirius gripped her hand, pulling her slightly faster now. "Peter is not seeing you naked before I do, so if he dares I'll punch him.". Ines chuckled, holding back more laughter at the comment.

To her left, she spotted the comforting sight of the trees as they made their way over the bridge that she had always appreciated. She walked to the window, practically pressing her entire body against the glass as she watched the place of brilliant sunlight, never undappled. The shafts of lemon-gold brilliance lanced down to the forest floor covered in a rich grass, between bars and pools of brown-green shade; and the light was never still, never constant, filtering all the sunlight to a pearly sheen and brushing every pine cone with moisture that glistened when the mist lifted. Minutes later once the sight passed from view, she felt Sirius' touch from behind her. His lips making their way down her neck in a uniform row, leaving her toes curling. Now reaching her collarbone, she turned to face him. "I refuse to make an illegitimate child with you on this train.". His face was still inches from her body, his grin was practically pressed across her jaw. "So you mean you'll make an illegitimate child with me elsewhere?". She stifled a snort and playfully punched his side before quickly making her way out of the compartment.

They scurried down the hall, their hands fumbling with each other sides as they giggled. It wasn't until they were halfway down the train that they stopped, and with seemingly perfect timing. To their surprise, they found their brothers alone, but not in any sort of situation that they would have expected them to be in. They seemed to be having an incredibly serious conversation, not exactly crying but not exactly arguing. But there was no denying the tension. "Ines," Sirius whispered, "We should get going.". Ines turned to face him now, "What if something is the matter?". He ran his hand through his hair, "If that's the case, then I think we'd be the very last people on this train that they'd want to see.". He tugged on her arm slightly but she ripped it from his grasp. "But Sirius I can't just-".

They were interrupted by the slam of the door and the scurrying of feet. Oberon and Regulus stalked away from them in the other direction, as quickly as they could. But Ines went after them. "Oberon, please. I'm sorry I just-". He turned to face her, Regulus stopping mid-stride, and looked from her to Sirius and back. "I'm sorry," Ines was able to croak out, tears now pushing to spill, "I just want to know if you're alright I really-" He spun on his heel and walked off again, leaving only Ines and Regulus now. "You'll take care of him, I know you will, I just-". Regulus, never much of a talker only reached out and squeezed her hands, before walking off to join Oberon who was now several train cars down from them. Leaving Ines to watch them walk away in silence, still trying to keep her tears at bay. At some point Sirius came up behind her to console her, pressing into her back as he had been only a few minutes beforehand.

_I am so sorry for neglecting this story for so long. Going through the college application process as well as the ups and downs of life took quite a toll on me in the past two months which I hope you all can understand. I hope to update this story again soon in an effort to push myself to be more creative. Also for those of you who like Regulus and Oberon, I've had stuff written about them for ages that I hope to publish once I finish this story. _


	44. Chapter Fourty Two

As horrible as the night was for Remus, Ines couldn't help but feel nostalgic. It had been four years since she had first found out about his lycanthropy. On a date with Edward Carmichael, after having just been kissed for the very first time, she heard the howl that she now knew haunted Remus' every waking moment. She was atop the astronomy tower much past curfew with a boy much too old for her. Not that she had any care at that time, thinking his interest in her was in no way strange or predator but rather out of true kindness. The castle was full of strange and mysterious things, and unknown noises were not uncommon, but this one was different. While Edward had decided to retreat back to the Ravenclaw common room, Ines went to investigate its source, only to find her four friends in a bloody and decrepit state.

But this night was different - normally Ines was avoiding boys, partially for Remus' sake but also to get a night not spent with her skirt at her ankles in a broom cupboard - tonight she was simply left alone. Not a single soul came up to her to feign interest in her summer to look at her breasts. Nobody bothered her, they simply watched as she walked through the halls or the common room. Ines would be stupid not to realize why, but it was strange none the less. Sirius' presence was nothing new to Ines, they had been inseparable ever since their first day at Hogwarts. But his role had changed, and while there was no name for it - at least not one that the two of them had discussed - there was an obvious difference.

Ines had long since lost care for the detentions she would undoubtedly receive while waiting for the boys. Most teachers let her be, either aware of the situation or much too tired to prosecute her for sitting and doing seemingly nothing just as she did every month. She sat, as she usually did, behind the statue of the architect of Hogwarts who was sat riding a horse with a miniature model of the castle in his hands. It had been two hours since she had walked down with the boys and wished them all good luck, and was halfway through her second pack of sugar quills. At this point she had become accustomed to the worry that lingered in the hall in the hours she spent waiting for the boys, it used to be practically unbearable. But as the years passed, the boys became animagi, Remus was easier to handle, and she was at much more peace. She was sometimes able to get work done if she chose to actually do it, but on this night she used her time to ponder.

She wondered about what her life would have been like if the seemingly most minor of changes had occurred. Had she been sorted into Slytherin, she most likely would have not found Sirius in the way she did. Sure, they had seen each other plenty of times previous to their sorting but had never had the opportunity to really get to know each other. They likely wouldn't have if she had been sorted into Slytherin. If she were in Slytherin she probably would have stuck by her brother, being surrounded by the same ideals he welcomed. Maybe she would have been overpowered, too scared to speak up and defy the norm. Her parents would love her. But most importantly, Sirius would not love her. Nor would James, Remus, Peter, Lily, or any of the girls. She would try to glean love from people like Evan Rosier or Bertha Jorkins.

She would have been expected to love Regulus, or at least like him, as they would probably spend the rest of their life together. She would have had to bear his children, and then raise them under the watchful eye of her own parents. She would live a life stolen from Oberon. She wondered where that would leave Sirius. Would Marlene fill the void she would no longer be able to, or would it still be her? Would they still find their way to each other? She usually liked to think that they would, but on nights of the full moon made her think not. The chances of Remus parents existing, marrying, having Remus, him being bitten, been sorted into Gryffindor, become friends with the boys, trust them enough to tell them his secret, as well as every other possible change in the universe, made the occurrence of their reality seem next to impossible. Every minor change in the history of time led them to this moment, but seemingly minor changes turned major, like house and allegiance.

She thought again, as difficult as the night was for Remus, she was glad that this was the reality that all the changes in the universe brought her to. Even on the most difficult nights, she was glad for it all. She thought of the night that a full moon aligned with the night of Remus' 14th birthday, and Ines was still able to pull off his party, without him even being there. It took copious amounts of alcohol and plenty of convincing but she managed to pull it off and still shag Andrew Brooks before the boys had come back, and unharmed at that.

The whole experience made her feel a lot bigger than she actually was. That she was above the petty struggles of everyone else in the castle, worried about their grades, clothes, and classes. She was too busy worrying about the lives of her friends, and if they would live to see another day. But in the hours of the night, trying to fall asleep, it sometimes haunted her. That she should be worried about simple things like how to do her hair the next day and what she would wear. Not the fate of her future, and whether it would ever intertwine with her brothers again. If she would be able to see the ones she loved grow old. If she herself would grow old, old enough to one day have children and raise them the way she wished she had been.

She hadn't realized she began to cry when Lily pointed it out, asking her what was wrong, and it took her even longer to realize that it was Lily that stood in front of her. "What are you doing! Go back to the dorm!". Lily took a step back in shock, "I could tell you to do the same! I'm doing my rounds tonight". Ines stood from her spot at the statue and gripped her by her shoulders, pushing her away slightly. "No! Lily, since when?". "Since Owen Caudwell had me trade with him so he could study for his astronomy exam tomorrow. But why are you crying? What's the matter? Why can't I be here"

Ines, now trying to stifle her tears, "I'm sorry, I just can't tell you.". Lily, a bit astonished, took another step back. They didn't have any secrets, but this seemed different. Before she could say anything else, her name was called from the now opening front doors. Ines ran to the sound of the voice, with Lily not far behind. Making their way through the doors was a tired-looking Peter with Remus using his short frame for support, and James trying to keep a very bloody Sirius upright. Ines immediately fell to her knees in front of him, looking up at James, tears now spilling out again. "What happened?".

She was used to them all being hurt, but this was different. Lily was here, despite Remus being hardly conscious enough to realize it, and this was not something she was supposed to be privy to. With emotions running high, Ines could hardly hold back her emotions. "Wrong place wrong time, he's got a hefty slash on his stomach. We've got to get him…." James went to look towards the stairs only to see Lily staring back at him. He took only a brief moment to spare her a glance, and then back to Ines, somehow still keeping calm. "Dormitory, now, grab his other arm.". Ines scurried to his other side and hoisted him up. Lily, without instruction, went to alleviate Peter of some of the weight crushing down on him.

After a grueling climb up the staircases, they made it to the boy's room as silently as they could, and then as carefully as possible, put both Remus and Sirius in their respective beds. James immediately sprang into action, having Lily grab the tin from Remus' bedside table with all the supplies he needed. Lily did her best to support James' and comfort Ines. Remus was relatively okay, nothing beyond his normal level of injury on a night like this. Peter was exhausted, falling in and out of sleep on the armchair by the door, but healthy and alive nonetheless. But the gash on Sirius's stomach went deep and long, covering much of his torso. After what felt like hours, watching the seams of Sirius' skin inch further towards each other, James could safely say that Sirius would be just fine.

He was still asleep and was likely to stay that way through the night. Ines gripped his hand tightly, sitting beside his sleeping form. In the time it took for James to put all the supplies back in Remus' tin, give Ines a big hug, and calm himself down, Remus had woken up. He immediately noticed Lily, and the second her eyes met his, they shot towards James. "She doesn't know anything, we haven't said a word.". Remus, unable to speak, took a second before nodding. His voice hoarse, he was able to say a few words, "Tell her," turning to Lily, "I trust you.". Lily nodded, her eyes wide open in shock and confusion before he put his head on his pillow and dozed off.

Lily and James headed down the stairs towards the common room, and Ines took a few minutes to breathe. She brushed Sirius' hair from his face before heading down the stairs herself to find Lily and James sat practically on top of each other on the couch adjacent to the fire. Deep in conversation, they hardly noticed Ines until she bid them goodnight, blowing them each a kiss as she made her way up the stairs to the girl's dormitory. Leaving them to talk about Remus, the past seven years, and whatever else it was that left Lily in a daze when she finally made her way back up to her bed later that night.


	45. Chapter Forty Three

Savoring the last few warm weeks of the year, Ines found herself frequenting the lakefront at least twice a day. Whether it was to read a book, spend time with her friends, or simply to lay in the sun. It was hardly two months into the year and she felt the full force of the N.E.W.T.S's stress, her teachers piling on the work to an insane limit. That, on top of fairly average quidditch tryouts, brought her to venture down to the lakefront during the night rather than the day.

The lakefront was typically a place Ines and her friends went to study or wind down, but as time went on its purpose changed. It became a reprieve from the walls that, the undoubtedly loved, spent so much time in. It was a good place to think of their ever-nearing future in which they have to become active members of society. The lakefront was the closest they could get to the outside of Hogwarts, save for Hogsmeade, and became an optimal place to gaze across the water and contemplate. What kind of jobs would they hold? would the war impede on that? where would they live? Would they miss the hustle and bustle of the castle and it's abundance of students?

But at the moment, not a single other student was around, no-one to ask her about the upcoming Ravenclaw game or Flitwick's essay. That is, besides Sirius. Forgoing the map, not for the thrill but rather because Remus needed it to get to the restricted section, the two of them had somehow managed to get down to the Black Lake completely unseen. Now, sitting behind a rather large tree, there was no possible way for anyone to spot them. The sun had almost set entirely now, the varying shades of pink and purple glimmering along the surface of the water. Sirius had taken to charming the lily pads surrounding the water to spin, forcing all the frogs off, as Ines rested in between his legs.

"You're disturbing the wildlife Sirius, leave them be." Ines chided as she looked up at him. Looking down towards her, he grinned "I could think of many more ways that we could be disturbing them.". Ines mimed a gag, pretending to be utterly disgusted by the humor she was now used to. They crept into another bout of silence, the only noises coming from the surrounding animals and bugs, and the soft sound-emitting as Sirius ran his hand up and down her side, slightly slipping under her shirt.

The feeling was one she hadn't felt in a very long time. She hadn't had sullied herself for meaningless sex with a man since the summer before 5th year. It hadn't been that bad, Dmitri had had a whole summer with her to improve. But, she couldn't do that to herself anymore. With every swipe of Sirius' hand on her skin, she could feel everyone else's hands, feel their heavy breaths on her neck, hear them whisper sweet nothings in her ear. Tell her how beautiful she was while they undressed her, with every garment stripping her of a piece of her dignity.

Abruptly standing, Sirius stood with Ines, confused as her sudden reluctance to his touch. Ines walked a few paces away, standing at the water's edge now. "What's the matter," Sirius whispered, as if he were to raise his voice any louder she would break. "I'm sorry, I can't…". She couldn't face him, couldn't look at his face and see the inevitable disappointment. "I can't be with you the way you want to, at least not yet. I can't, I can't…." The tears were threatening to flow now, "I'm not ready to have someone undress me and look at me the way that…. You're not like the rest of them, and I know that. I'm sorry, I … I.".

"It's alright Ines, there's no need to explain." She mustered up the strength to look at him now, "No I do, it's what you deserve, and I want to… I've …. I've just had so many people take my clothes off for me, doing it for me. I want that back, if that makes sense, that power.". Sirius only nodded, watching Ines from a distance.

She eased back into a comfortable state of mind, focusing on her breath as she watched Sirius. He was visibly upset by her words, wishing she felt differently. Not for his own gain, but for her state of mind. She knew that he truly cared for her and she could trust him with anything. Which is why she felt comfortable doing what she wanted.

"I want it back, so I'm going to do it myself. For me." Ines muttered, and Sirius' expression turned to one of confusion and then shock as she took off her top. Her pants and shoes soon followed her top on the grassy lawn, until she was left in only her undergarments. Then, slowly, she stripped off the rest.

He was still fully clothed, and she was naked, vulnerable. His eyes traveled slowly down the length of her, not missing a detail. He would see the abundance of her curves, the star-shaped birthmark on her collarbone, the scar on her hip from the time she'd fallen out of a tree her and Oberon had climbed. He was seeing what many men had seen before, her breasts, her stomach, her…The silence built and grew. She'd shut her eyes tightly, momentarily embarrassed and exposed. But finally she could stand it no longer, and she opened her eyes once more, to glance up at him, trying to gauge his reaction.

She could see his shortness of breath-catching up to him, his hands flexing in restraint. "Up for a swim?" Ines asked, before stepping towards the water. Sirius stood at the shore, watching her. It felt so unbelievably good to have done it for herself, to be stripped of her clothes for nobody's enjoyment but her own, although she didn't mind having Sirius there. Ines tried not to think of all the creatures undoubtedly lingering far below her as she took slow strokes through the lake. The reflection of the moon and the stars on the water's surface shone around her, sparkling just as much as her smile as she gazed up at Sirius. Who was just as bright in the constellation of her life as any star.


End file.
